Assassin in Training
by NerdofSpades
Summary: Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself. -Chinese Proverb Izuku is one of the 3-E students of Aldera Junior High that has been tasked with destroying the villain that destroyed the moon. None of the students expected the bright yellow octopus to be the best and most supportive teacher any of them had ever had, least of all Izuku. (Parts 1-18 of Open Doors.)
1. A Change of Fate

**Uh, hi.**

**So, I decided that putting every part of this series up individually was going to get unwieldy, so I'm not doing that anymore. At least, not on FFN. AO3 will maintain the original structure, just because the formatting actually functions over there. Everything for the initial portion of the series will be placed here from now on, and the originals will be deleted in the next week or so to clear up space and give everyone time to move over and get things sorted.**

**Hopefully this works better than my first attempt,**

**NoS**

* * *

_**Midoriya Izuku has always been fated for nothing, at least as far as society is concerned. A quirkless kid trying to be a hero? That was never going to end well. But then he met All Might, and things changed. And then the moon blew up, and things changed again. **_

* * *

Bag bouncing at his side and breathing heavy, Izuku bolted out of the forest and made a sharp turn to try and avoid as much of the main campus as possible. He couldn't afford to get caught by Daisuke-kun and his friends. Not again. Not now that he was in E Class. If he could make it off campus before they found him… if he could just keep ahead of them long enough, then he would be safe.

A yelp slipped from his lips, choked off as the collar of his shirt bit into his neck and he was yanked backwards and around a secluded corner of the school. Izuku's eyes closed and his arms came up to block any blows to his face (not that it would help, they never hit his face). When his back slammed against the wall and the hand moved to hold him by the front of his shirt, Izuku let out a small whimper.

"Tch," his attacker snorted. "You really are that pathetic."

Izuku cracked open his eyes to find a familiar shock of blond hair and angry red eyes. "Oh, h-hi, K-kacchan," he said quietly, his arms lowering. Maybe Kacchan hadn't been the nicest person to Izuku, but at least he had left Izuku alone once they entered junior high. Mostly. Kacchan was still willing to hurl insults, but he never touched Izuku. All in all, Izuku wasn't sure what to make of the situation right now. He was probably in for a tongue lashing, but compared to having his notes destroyed, it would be fine.

"Don't call me that, Deku," Kacchan growled. "It makes it sound like we're friends." Kacchan looked him over for a moment, taking in the smaller boy's form before turning his attention to Izuku's hands, still slightly raised. He reached forwards and pulled the notebook Izuku was carrying out of his grip.

"Hey, that's mine!"

"Shut up, Deku," Kacchan said, looking closer at the book Izuku had forgotten he'd been holding in his mad dash to get off campus. Daisuke-kun destroyed Izuku's school notes, but not his hero notes. There was never enough time for that. "Tch, you still think you can be a hero, huh, Deku?"

"Th-there's no harm in trying, Kacchan," Izuku muttered, turning his face to the side.

Kacchan laughed. "Please, a quirkless piece of shit like you is only going to get in the way of the real heroes. You can't even fight off school yard thugs, much less actual villains." He tossed the notebook to the side.

"Please, Kacchan, can we just skip all this? We can both go home and, and you can go back to pretending I don't exist."

Kacchan's face twisted into a snarl, small pops bursting from his hands. Izuku flinched away. "With the way you are, you're just going to bring down our school's reputation. It might be a piece of shit, too, but at least people think highly of it. If you keep running around with impossible dreams, you'll just drag Aldera's reputation through the mud with you, so drop it!" Kacchan tossed the notebook away.

Izuku shrunk back into the wall. This isn't how he expected his day to go. Kacchan let go of Izuku. "People know greatness when they see it. The best heroes all have stories from their childhood, people just looked at them and knew. But you? You were never destined for anything," he said. "Tch. Fucking Deku." Finally, he turned and began walking away.

Izuku hesitated for a moment before scrambling off the wall to pick up his Hero Analysis notebook. "Hey, Deku," Kacchan called over his shoulder. "If you wanna be a hero that bad, there is another way." Izuku felt his heart sink as Kacchan's sneer grew wider. "All you have to do is pray you'll get a quirk in your next life and take a dive off the roof!"

Izuku flinched and reared back. He could hardly believe Kacchan would be willing to say something like that. Not necessarily because Kacchan wasn't capable of it, but because it put his precious perfect record at risk. It would be easy for Izuku to ruin him now, but he would have to ruin himself in the process.

Pushing those thoughts out of his head, Izuku turned, tucked his head down, and started his walk home again. Maybe he should take the long route today? It was pretty isolated and would give him plenty of time to sort out his feelings and put on a brave face before he got home. The last thing he wanted was to worry his mother again.

* * *

Izuku hadn't been able to stop grinning since he had agreed to All Might's offer. Even now, hours later, laying in bed and trying to fall asleep, he felt giddy. He felt like he was walking on cloud nine and everything was going to be alright. But there was the slight problem of turning his grades around. He wasn't going to make it into UA if his academic career was in shambles and he couldn't pass the written exam. He was going to have to recommit himself to his studies as well as his new training regimen. He couldn't afford to disappoint All Might.

Which was probably why he had neglected to mention that small fact to his hero. If All Might realized what a failure Izuku was, he'd probably rescind his offer and give his quirk to someone with a better chance of actually making it into a heroics course.

Thinking it over, Izuku was probably going to need some help with the getting back on track thing. He'd fallen far enough behind that it was going to take a lot of effort to simply catch up, much less master the material well enough to pass his exams. He should probably talk to Yukimura-sensei about it tomorrow after class. Maybe even apologize for being so disconnected from the class earlier.

Yeah, that would help. It was a start at least.

He just hoped he would be ready in time.

* * *

Of course, nothing was ever that easy. Three weeks into the school year, and already things were falling apart. At least Izuku could definitively say it wasn't his fault. At two weeks, the moon exploded, and Yukimura-sensei disappeared. The next day, All Might left, too. He at least gave Izuku a quick text saying he wasn't going to be able to attend their training for a while, but that if Izuku followed the training guide, everything would be fine.

For the week following Yukimura-sensei's disappearance, which no one actually seemed all that concerned about _(Why wasn't anyone saying anything? Why was she gone? What happened?),_ class 3-E had a rotating set of substitutes until a replacement could be found. A new student joined them as well, making quick friends with Nagisa-kun. For the week following Yukimura-sensei's disappearance, Izuku felt listless and abandoned. His teachers were gone, and All Might didn't respond to any of Izuku's texts. They would only ever be read every few days, and even then, All Might never said a single thing in response. _(What if he found someone else? Was he leaving? Should Izuku even bother with cleaning up the beach?)_

Then things got… weird.

A man with some kind of mutation quirk that made him look like a large yellow octopus was standing in front of the class with government officials introducing him as their new teacher. And explaining that this man destroyed the moon, and apparently his appearance wasn't his quirk. (Izuku was still struggling to get his head around that one.) Oh, and they were supposed to kill him.

But it wasn't going to be easy. Not with someone that smart and that fast. _(Mach 20!? Really!? How were they supposed to hit someone that fast!? And all they were given were some rubber knives and bb-guns!?)_ But, hey, the ten billion yen reward money would sure be nice. Not that a quirkless failure like him stood a chance. Especially not when All Might couldn't even land a blow. _(At least that explained where All Might went and why he was so busy.)_

"And remember," Karasuma-san said from the front as the government agents behind him began filing out, "this is a state secret. You can't go telling your friends and family about this. If you do, you, and whoever you told, will be subject to a memory quirk and removed from the program." There was a slight pause. "Try your best, the world is counting on you."

Well, this was going to get complicated.

* * *

**Hello! So, welcome to the latest series that I decided it was a wonderful idea to start... I have so much work to do on this thing.**

**Plan is to run through the year at Aldera with series of one shots, then launch into a longer fic to cover the events of BNHA. There's probably going to be a hiatus in there somewhere, all things considered, but hopefully it won't be too long.**

**If you guys have any questions, feel free to ask. There are some things I can't answer, but somethings that I absolutely will because it's confusing and probably won't come up directly in any of the stories.**

**Hope I've got your interest,**

**NoS**


	2. Secret Keeper

_**Keeping All Might away from 3-E was easy. It's not like he was actually asking a lot of questions about Izuku's school life. Keeping 3-E away from All Might? That was an entirely different problem.**_

* * *

Izuku glanced down at the small block in his hand for the millionth time, running his thumb over the familiar kanji. He… he didn't know what to do. He needed to put the name plaque back up, he knew that much, but that wasn't the problem.

Izuku wanted to be a hero. Izuku was training to be a hero. What kind of hero listened to a villain threaten people's families (threaten their own family) and just sat back and did nothing? At the same time, what could Izuku do? He wasn't fast enough or strong enough or clever enough to kill a monster like Korosensei. He couldn't tell anyone either. He highly doubted All Might would have been okay with their plan of letting middle schoolers handle this, which meant he didn't know and was never _supposed_ to know. Which meant that, even if he'd been involved previously, Izuku would only get in trouble for talking to him about it.

Then there was the problem of Korosensei's speed. He could go to every student's home and bring back a souvenir in a second. He might not be the subtlest person in existence, but no one seemed to notice the Mach 20 octopus flying through the air earlier today, which meant he could be. He could watch and listen and Izuku wouldn't know until something stupid happened. Likely after Korosensei learned something Izuku didn't want him to know.

Izuku carefully put the name plaque in his pocket, glancing around to see if anyone had noticed. Not that they would think anything was weird, but all this secret keeping was making him jumpy. He just needed to go home, put the plaque back before anyone noticed it was gone, get changed, and head to the beach to haul trash with All Might. Easy.

It was easy. Izuku needed to stop psyching himself out over simple things like this. _No one cared. No one paid attention to him._ Why would they? He wasn't anyone important by their standards. Just some random middle schooler. Moving trash got his mind off the problem for a little while. Until he remembered that Korosensei seeing this and learning about All Might's true form was one of the problems he had been worrying about.

"Hey, All Might?" he said, slowing to a stop before he could grab another piece of rust covered junk.

"Hm? Yes, Midoriya-shounen, what is it?" All Might asked, taking a few steps closer in his skeletal form.

"Um, I was just wondering," Izuku began, his face starting to get a slight blush, "if someone, uh, came across us, I should probably have something other than 'All Might' to call you. It doesn't have to be your real name. I just don't want to go floundering for something that you might contradict later, and-"

All Might laughed. "At ease, Midoriya-shounen," he said, clapping a bony hand on Izuku's shoulder. "It's alright. It's something I should have thought of earlier, honestly. This beach is a public place, after all, even if no one comes here anymore. My name is Yagi Toshinori."

Izuku beamed. "Right! Thank you, Yagi-san!"

Yagi-san laughed again. "Alright, back to work now! We've got a lot of ground to cover!"

* * *

Izuku groaned, flopping down on his bed. With everything that happened in 3-E, he really shouldn't be surprised that keeping secrets was going to be difficult. He thought he'd fixed the problem (or at least part of it) when he'd gotten Yagi-san's name. But now things were harder. He didn't think there was any physical way for him to fix this one. To keep the secret from spreading at all. He would be surprised if it hadn't already.

That's what happens when one of your classmates is an AI that can transport her consciousness to other devices like his _phone._ The same phone that had All Might's contact information (saved under "Yagi-san" now, but those texts were still suspicious). The same phone that had a GPS chip and he took with him everywhere, including the beach. The same phone that could be used to listen in to any conversations he had because that's how microphones work.

He sighed again, sitting up. He might not be able to stop Ritsu-san from knowing, but he could (hopefully) keep her from telling anyone else.

Which was really his only option other than trying to avoid talking about One for All, which he could only do so much. If All Might brought it up and Izuku deflected, he'd probably realize something was wrong. Probably. Maybe. Yagi-san wasn't always the most observant person.

Izuku picked up his phone, pausing for a moment to wonder how he was going to get Ritsu-san's attention. He didn't think she just hung out listening all the time, but he didn't really know what else to do. "Ritsu-san?" he whispered, cradling his phone. No response. This was weird. A blush covered Izuku's face as he realized he looked like he thought the phone was a magic talking rock with how he was holding it and trying to talk to it.

Time for a different plan. Izuku scrolled through his phone, looking for anything he didn't remember putting there. A new app or contact- Contact information. Sitting there, as plain as day, was a new contact labeled "Ritsu." Izuku quickly pulled it up, typing out a text message.

"Hey, Ritsu-san," he wrote, "can we talk for a minute."

As soon as he hit send, Ritsu-san's figure appeared on his screen, standing next to the short message like it was the most normal thing in the world. Izuku shrieked slightly at her sudden appearance.

"Hello, Midoriya-kun!" she greeted. "What do you need to talk to me about?"

"Um… right," Izuku muttered, pulling his dignity back together. "There's some, uh, things I don't really want the rest of the class, or the teachers, to know."

"Are you in danger?" Ritsu-san interrupted.

"What? No! I'm not-! No! I'm fine!" Izuku sputtered. "Korosensei's a bigger threat to me than this… uh, secret."

"Oh, okay then." Ritsu-san immediately went back to her usual calm self. "I only asked because I have been going through a lot of human media and your behavior was very similar to someone trying to keep others away for safety reasons."

Izuku winced. She wasn't wrong. Not wrong at all. "Listen, just, I don't know how far your… awareness of the data on our phones goes, and I don't want to assume you would go through my phone, but I want to make sure."

Ritsu nodded. "That's understandable," she chirped. "I have learned that searching through someone's data is something of a… I think you call it violating someone's privacy? I try to avoid going through any data I don't need to. However, I cannot stop myself from seeing any data being interacted with while I am on a device, which is why I like to use my avatar when using my Mobile Ritsu form."

"Oh," Izuku said, slumping slightly in relief. "That's good. Thank you, Ritsu-san."

"Don't worry," Ritsu-san said. "You're not the first one to bring up such concerns. Would you like to tell me what information you want kept private in case I see something by accident or one of the teachers requests the information?"

Izuku hesitated. That had been his original plan, but did he really want to direct her attention to the information? She said she wouldn't look, and there shouldn't be a reason for anyone to ask about it, but… "Anything to do with Yagi-san," he said slowly. It wouldn't hurt to be careful. Just in case. "And I'd rather you didn't access the location data without talking to me."

Ritsu-san nodded, smiling. "Alright, I'll do my best to stay out of your data and keep anything I learn to myself!" she said. "Is there anything else you needed?"

"No," Izuku said, smiling a little himself. "Thank you, Ritsu-san."

"You're welcome! Goodnight, Midoriya-kun!"

"Goodnight, Ritsu-san."

Izuku collapsed back on his bed again when Ritsu-san was gone. One more problem taken care of. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to do something like that again. Izuku couldn't help but wonder how he got to be tangled up in this web of secrets and lies.


	3. Questioning

_**Things have changed for Izuku, and he's changed with them. Now, faced with consequences and questions he can't answer, he needs to figure out who he really wants to be. **_

* * *

Izuku was exhausted. After months of training at school and clearing Dagobah beach for All Might, Izuku was reaching his limit. He'd hoped he'd be able to keep up with both, but he honestly isn't sure why he thought that was a good idea now. Really, he thought he could handle two extremely intense training regimens simultaneously? What kind of idiot was he?

As it was, Izuku wasn't just doubting his ability to keep up with everything at this point, nor was his current state simply affecting his physical performance. Nope, his grades were dropping again, and he knew Korosensei and Karasuma-sensei had noticed in their respective classes. How did he know? Easy. It was Korosensei and Karasuma-sensei. They always noticed these things. (As much as he didn't like to admit it, All Might was a horrible teacher and had yet to notice anything was wrong.) And then there was the other reason he knew that they had noticed.

"Well, Midoriya-kun?" Korosensei pressed. "I know there's a reason for all of this, but I can't help you if I don't know what it is?"

He had pulled Izuku aside after class let out to speak with him and Karasuma-sensei in the teacher's lounge. At least it was just them. None of his classmates or Bitch-sensei were still in the area.

Izuku shuffled his feet, carefully looking anywhere but at his teacher. "Don't you, uh, normally just follow your students for this kinda stuff?" he asked quietly.

"Normally, yes, he does," Karasuma-sensei answered. "I managed to convince him to just ask you this time. I'm hoping it will mean a little less stalking in the future."

Right, that made sense. Izuku turned his gaze to his feet. What exactly was he supposed to say? That he had been training with All Might? Or should he just lie? Promise it would stop and leave it at that?

But he couldn't promise that. In order for it to stop, he would need to pick one. It shouldn't even be that hard. Just pick one and stop putting so much effort into the other training. It would be that simple.

But he couldn't. He couldn't just pick one. If he gave up on All Might… that was like giving up on his dream. But stopping his assassin training would be like giving up on the world. Then there was the other part…

Most of Izuku's classmates didn't exactly have the most sought-after quirks in the world. There were some mutation quirks, and two quirks that could be counted as "heroic," but the rest? Their class was made up of either extremely weak quirks, villainous quirks, and the entire quirkless population of Aldera Junior High. And even with all of that, they were coming closer to killing Korosensei than even All Might. Izuku had watched his class find ways to beat even the best in the school. He had watched them train and succeed, with and _without_ their quirks. Something in him had changed.

"Korosensei, Karasuma-sensei," he said slowly, eyes screwed shut. This was beginning to feel just like the time with All Might on the roof. He hoped it had a better ending. "Do you think I can be a hero? Even without a quirk?"

Izuku stood there, fists clenched, and waited. He wasn't going to say anything else until they answered.

"Of course, you can."

Izuku's eyes opened and his head snapped up to stare at Korosensei. He thought…

"Not so fast there," Karasuma-sensei interrupted. Izuku could feel his heart sink back down to his feet again. Of course, it wouldn't be that easy. "Sure, you can be a hero. You'd be great at it. But getting the license isn't going to be easy."

That's what he had a problem with? Not… He thought Izuku could be a hero? A good one?

"We can address the issues of the _how_ later, Karasuma-sensei. For now, I think Midoriya-kun needs some reassurance."

"Huh?" Karasuma-sensei grunted turning a confused face back towards Izuku. "Oh, shit! You're crying. Um, easy there, kid. Just… calm down."

Izuku whipped at the tears with his sleeve, trying to choke down sobs. They believed in him. Even without a quirk, they believed in him.

"Midoriya-kun," Korosensei said quietly, offering a tissue, which Izuku took, "you undoubtedly have the potential. You are kind, compassionate, and hard working. Even if you don't stand out among your classmates in any one skill, you are still above the average for the class, and your class is anything but average. I am a little concerned about what kind of hero you want to be though. You're an All Might fan, are you not?"

Izuku finished cleaning his face for the time being and stifled his tears. "Y-yeah," he nodded.

"I'm not entirely sure why that's important. Everyone likes All Might," said Karasuma-sensei.

"Ah, but people almost invariably try to emulate their heroes if they go into the same field. Especially when they are celebrities," Korosensei answered. "Do you know where I'm going with this, Midoriya-kun?"

Izuku shook his head.

"Hmm, do you remember what I told Sugino-kun?" he asked. "You were there, I believe. It was the first time you attacked me in earnest and not just because someone else told you to."

Izuku thought for a moment. He remembered that day. Korosensei had gone to a baseball game to learn somethings to help Sugino-kun improve his pitch. Sugino-kun had been trying to emulate a professional pitcher, despite the fact that… "You're talking about how I can't be like All Might," Izuku answered, "because I don't have a quirk."

Korosensei's face turned red, with a dark circle on it. "Correct. Although, I would amend that a bit. I don't know if anyone could really be like All Might. His quirk is truly something else, and then throw his charisma on top of that. It's no wonder he became the Symbol of Peace."

"But you don't think I can."

"That was never in the cards for you, Midoriya-kun," Karasuma-sensei said.

"Just like how Sugino-kun won't ever throw Arita's fastball, you will never throw a 'Texas Smash,'" Korosensei confirmed.

Well, they weren't entirely accurate. But that was beside the point.

"So, Midoriya-kun," Korosensei continued. "What kind of hero do you want to be?" Izuku blinked. What kind of hero did he want to be? "You don't have to answer now, but it will go a long way to making sure your goal is attainable."

"I…" In the past it was easy. He wanted to be like All Might. He wanted to make people feel safe with a smile. He wanted to be hope.

But things had changed. Even All Might only thought Izuku could be a hero if he had a quirk. And All Might had opened a path for Izuku to follow that dream to the letter. Now, Izuku had two teachers that knew his skills better than almost anyone telling him he didn't need a quirk. That he could be a hero of his own kind.

And it felt right. Like it was something he had always needed. Always known. Something in him was resonating with the very idea of stepping forward under his own power and-

"I… I want to be someone I would have looked up to as a child," Izuku finally answered. "I want to be a hero to all the quirkless kids out there. A sign that they can be whatever they want to be, no matter what anyone else says. I don't want them to suffer like I did." The tears were back again. "I don't want anyone else to grow up thinking they're worthless and weak just because they don't have a quirk."

Karasuma-sensei stiffened in his chair.

"A wonderful answer, Midoriya-kun," Korosensei beamed, ruffling Izuku's hair with one tentacle. "Now, Karasuma-sensei, we consider the how because, unfortunately, Midoriya-kun, he is right about that. It is going to be extremely difficult for you to get a hero license."

Izuku's head dropped. "Right."

Karasuma-sensei sighed. "Alright, let's talk strategy, but we are coming back to the comment about thinking you're worthless."

"Agreed," Korosensei said blithely.

Izuku wasn't sure whether or not he should be regretting that statement, but he'd certainly be finding out by the end of the conversation.

"First things first," Karasuma-sensei began, "you need to stop overworking yourself. You need to build up your strength, yes, but you'll do the opposite and hurt yourself if you keep going as is." Izuku winced but nodded. "On top of that, your assassin training will be invaluable, but will also leave you vulnerable in a battle. You need more than that."

"May I suggest Mixed Martial Arts?" Korosensei said. "It would provide Midoriya-kun with offensive and defensive capabilities outside of assassination tactics and would provide him with the chance to develop his own fighting style from a unique blend of techniques, while also giving him a wide variety of tricks to pull from."

"Yeah, MMA is probably his best bet for hand to hand combat," Karasuma-sensei agreed. "For that, there are a few dojos I know in the area. I can probably make it look like additional assassin training and get the Ministry of Defense to pay for it, at least for the next year."

"I also suggest learning the art of improvised weaponry," Korosensei added with a laugh. "It's indispensable for an assassin and will make you more unpredictable as a hero in the field."

"Also very true," said Karasuma-sensei. "But it will be more difficult to teach. I'll look into that one over the next few days. I assume you have another reason for suggesting that?" He turned his attention back to Korosensei.

Korosensei chuckled. "Of course!" he said. "You see, Midoriya-kun, this brings us to the next problem. We can train you up all we want, but if you can't get into a hero school, your career won't be going anywhere. Once there, your new teachers will have to take over preparing you for your licensing exams. And the unfortunate thing is, many schools have tests that are heavily weighted for flashy and offensive quirks, putting you at an extreme disadvantage. Some schools even have rules prohibiting quirkless hopefuls from applying for their heroics course."

"Yeah, I knew about that last part," Izuku muttered, "and I guess I should have expected that the tests would be weighted against me. Not like anything else has ever been fair."

"Ah, but here is where we approach things like an assassin, Midoriya-kun! Can you tell me what you should do when faced with this road block?"

"Um, research?" Izuku answered.

"Hmm, partial credit," Korosensei responded. "You can do better than that. Yes, research is a crucial step, but _what_ are you researching, and _why?_"

"Well…" Izuku said slowly. "If it's going to be difficult to get in, I need to look at the schools where I am most likely to succeed. But I also need to consider the long term, which schools have the highest success rate for getting their students to pass the licensing exams. I should also probably look at the school's entrance exam rules. Figure out what I'm allowed to do so I can try and work them to my favor."

"Exactly right!" Korosensei said, his face lighting up again. "Now, the reason I brought up the improvised weapons is because many schools won't allow you to bring anything in, or, if they do, it has to be a support item necessary for your quirk, as approved by the government, or something you made. A few will allow just about anything in but getting your hands on proper support gear would be just as difficult and usually illegal. So, the solution is to find small things you can make and bring that or find items on the testing ground that you can use."

"Makes sense," Izuku conceded. "Is there… anything else?"

"Hmm, I don't have any suggestions, but I am going to make you do the research on the schools you will apply to yourself. And I am requiring that you at least try for UA as well. I will not have you simply give up on your dream school because you don't think you can pass. Have back up plans, but UA is the most likely to get you a license. We cannot forget that." Korosensei turned to his fellow instructor. "Karasuma-sensei, do you have anything to add?"

"No, I think you about covered it," he said. "So, let's go back a bit. Midoriya-kun, who told you you were worthless?" he asked, leaning forward, gaze even sterner than it usually would.

Izuku shifted nervously. "Uh… most of the main campus student body?"

"Anyone else?" Korosensei pushed gently.

"Um… some of the staff," Izuku muttered, ducking his head, "and… uh… Terasaka-kun."

"I didn't quite catch that last part, Midoriya-kun," Karasuma-sensei said.

Izuku winced. He had hoped he would get out of this without causing problems in class. "T-Terasaka-kun," he said louder, his voice wavering slightly. "B-but he's hardly the worst of it, and he's stopped more recently…"

Karasuma-sensei was fuming. He took a deep breath in and let it. "I don't think I can do much about the main campus, but Terasaka-kun will be facing consequences."

"Yes, he will be," Korosensei growled, his face starting to turn black.

Karasuma-sensei sent Korosensei a slight glare before turning his gaze back to Izuku. "Midoriya-kun," he spoke softly, "if you ever need to talk, we're here. And if you decide you would rather see a professional, and _not_ one this school has hired, I can help set that up as well."

Izuku nodded. He could feel tears beginning to burn his eyes again.

Korosensei still looked pissed, but another glare from Karasuma-sensei had him pushing the anger back in favor of looking after the student in front of him.

"Now, I have just one last thing," Karasuma-sensei continued. "We never did get an answer as to why you were overworking yourself, Midoriya-kun."

"Uh, he-he," Izuku chuckled nervously. "If I told you it would stop, would you leave it alone?"

Karasuma-sensei and Korosensei hesitated, exchanging a look. "Alright," Korosensei answered.

"But if we notice this happening again," Karasuma-sensei continued, "we will look into it."

Izuku nodded and bowed. "Yes, Sensei. Thank you, Sensei." Rising quickly, with a blush beginning to turn his cheeks red and a grin starting to pull at his lips, Izuku dashed out of the room, and began making his way to his next appointment.

Only after he left did he realize they never asked what he was doing in his spare time that had worn him out so much.

* * *

"So, yeah," Izuku finished, bowing again. "I'm grateful for the offer and the opportunity, but I would like to do this as a quirkless individual, for myself and for all the other quirkless people in the world, from here on out."

All Might nodded. "That's quite the lofty goal," he said, resting a bony hand on Izuku's head. "I like it!" he exclaimed, puffing up into his hero form. "It truly is a worthy aspiration for someone as heroic as you! I will continue to support you however I can, Midoriya-shounen!"

Izuku straightened, grinning so wide his cheeks were starting to hurt. "Thanks, All Might!"

"Now, you mentioned a new training regimen?"

"Yeah!" Izuku answered, starting to bounce slightly in excitement. "One of my teachers is helping me out. He suggested mixed martial arts and improvised weaponry. He used to work for the Ministry of Defense, so he knows some people and is working out a new training schedule now!"

"That sounds good to me!" All Might exclaimed, before coughing slightly and powering down. "We can rest some then, and I'll rework the training schedule to fit in with your new level of activity. After all, we don't need to put on as much muscle as possible before the exams any more. You need muscle, sure, but not necessarily that much. We'll also use some of our down days to work of theory, strategy, and law. You've got a great brain and I'd be a fool not to at least try and cultivate it."

"Right!"

"I've just got one more question," said All Might.

"Huh, yeah? What is it?" Izuku asked, calming down again.

"What changed your mind? You were so hyped and excited before. So committed. What happened?"

Oh, how was Izuku supposed to answer this. Uh… time to spin the wheel of excuses. Saying that assassin training was giving him confidence was definitely not the right answer, mostly because of state secrets and all that, but what could he say? Anyway, spinning the wheel, and there it goes. It broke. It's gone now.

"Midoriya-shounen?"

Right he needed to give an answer. Maybe just leave out the assassin part? "Uh, I guess… a lot of things in my life have been changing lately and… I have a lot more support than I used to. And I gained some confidence and new ideas in the process. I used to want to be just like you, but now I know I don't have to. I can be a new kind of hero."

All Might grinned down at him. "That works just fine by me," he said.

* * *

**Hello again!**

**So yeah, Izuku's gonna take a crack at being a quirkless hero! All Might... he doesn't necessarily believe Izuku can do it, but he's hopeful. He's still going to support Izuku and see how far the kid goes without too much interference, and he's definitely not going to let Iuzku know what he really thinks on the matter.**

**Another part down, so _so_ many more to go. Hope you guys are ready for it.**

**NoS**


	4. Enter Takaoka

_**The Ministry of Defense sent a new gym teacher for class 3-E by the name of Takaoka Akira, and he has some... ideas about how the class should be run. Ideas no one else is okay with. And Izuku isn't about to let him hurt his friends.**_

* * *

The schedule was insane. Yeah, Karasuma-sensei had extra lessons after school let out, but they were optional, and filled the same time slot as most club activities they weren't allowed to participate in. Takaoka-san wanted mandatory training until well past sundown. Izuku needed to go home. Izuku needed to go to the dojo and to the beach. He had other training to attend.

Sure, this guy seemed pretty nice. He was relaxed, cracked jokes, and got the class laughing. The sweets were nice too, even if Izuku couldn't really eat any with All Might's diet still in effect.

"What the hell!?" Maehara-kun was on his feet and protesting just a hair faster than Izuku. "This is impossible! We need time to study or our grades will drop!"

Izuku nodded, moving to stand beside Maehara-kun. "And some of us have responsibilities outside of class, too, you know. I have things I need to do after school."

"Yeah!" some of their classmates joined in. Muttering broke out behind them.

"The chairman knew that when he approved the schedule!" Maehara-kun continued. "There's no time for anything! No fun, no studying, nothing! Just training all day, every day! We can't do this!"

"You'll over-"

Takaoka-san reached out and, in a moment, had his knee buried in Maehara-kun's stomach, cutting off both boys and drawing distressed cries from the class. "It's 'we will,' not 'we can't,'" he said, serene smile never wavering. "I told you right?" he asked. "That in our 'family' I am the 'father.' Is there a single family in the world where the father's orders aren't absolute?"

Never once did he stop smiling. Maehara-kun was doubled over on the ground, coughing and retching. The rest of the class was frozen, Izuku just off to the side, and the others, half crouched where they had been sitting.

Izuku stepped forward and placed himself between Takaoka-san and his classmates. "My family," he spoke up. "My dad left us years ago. If he came back now all he would get is a slap in the face and a kick to the curb."

There was shuffling behind him as someone checked on Maehara-kun.

"Well, that's no father then, is it?" Takaoka-san replied, his smile wavering slightly. "I'll have to show you how a real father does things. Okay!" he said, clapping his hand together and reverting to his overly cheery self. "First up is three sets of one hundred squats each. And feel free to quit and leave at any time, if you want. I can always just replace you with some soldiers I raised up myself. Won't be too hard. Even if I replace a few of you, that octopus won't run away."

Oh, this was bad. They couldn't afford to leave now. They really just… couldn't.

"But I don't want to do that," Takaoka-san continued, his expression seeming to soften. "You're all my precious family, after all." He began walking around the group, moving behind them as the students refused to move, for fear of drawing attention to themselves. "As the father, I don't want to lose a single one of you!" He slung his arms around Kanzaki-san and Mimura-kun's shoulders, pulling them into a hug, grinning happily. "Let's save the earth together, as a family!"

Takaoka-san released his "hug" and stepped in front of Kanzaki-san, his hand resting gently on her head. "Alright? You'll follow your father, won't you?"

"Um, w-well…" Kanzaki-san said. She was shaking. Izuku felt his muscles tense up. Takaoka-san was testing them. And they were assassins. More importantly, they were middle schoolers. They were class 3-E. There was no way it would end well. "I…" The shaking stopped, and Kanzaki-san lifted her head and smiled at Takaoka-san. "I don't want to. I'd rather have class with Karasuma-sensei."

Didn't they all? Unfortunately, that wasn't the answer Takaoka-san wanted. He licked his smirking lips, wound back his arm, and smacked her. The crack resounded across their sport's field, and Izuku saw Kanzaki-san's feet leave the ground as she fell.

"Kanzaki-san!" Sugino-kun yelled. He ran to his friend, Izuku breaking out of his stupor and following. Already, Kayano-san and Nagisa-kun were already there. Kayano-san was kneeling on the ground behind Kanzaki-san, steadying her and checking on her, while Nagisa-kun moved protectively in front of her.

"You guys just don't seem to get it at all," Takaoka-san laughed. "'Yes,' is the only thing I should hear out of you. And if you have a problem with that," he raised his fists in a fighting stance, "then how about we let our fists do the talking? That's your father's forte!"

"Stop, Takaoka!"

The class turned. Karasuma-sensei was sprinting towards them from the building behind Takaoka-san. Takaoka-san's smile didn't fade one bit. Karasuma-sensei continued past him and went straight to Kanzaki-san, checking her over. Once assured that she was alright, he called after Maehara-kun. Satisfied in his students' condition, he turned his attention to Takaoka-san.

"I'm making sure to hold back, you know, Karasuma," Takaoka-san spoke before Karasuma-sensei could say anything. "They're my precious family, after all."

"No," a yellow tentacle came to rest on Takaoka-san's shoulder as Korosensei came up behind him, "they are not your family. They are my students."

A breath of relief could be heard from the class, along with a few cries of "Korosensei!"

"Heh," Takaoka-san chuckled, "is that a complaint I hear, monster?"

Izuku felt himself clench his teeth as he bit back the urge to jump to his teacher's defense.

"I'm fairly certain I was the one put in charge of P.E.," Takaoka-san continued. "Additionally, the punishment just now was perfectly within the bounds of a training session. This is all to train them in a short span of time to be the assassins that will kill you. It's only a given things will be rough. We don't have much of a choice on that." His grin turned predatory. "Or what, would you attack someone who hasn't done anything to you just because their teaching methods are a little different?"

Izuku could see that Takaoka-san had Korosensei backed into a corner, and he knew Korosensei could see it too. Everything Takaoka-san had said was technically correct. Maybe he was toeing the line of what he could use as punishment, but he was still on the "right" side of that line, at least as far as policy went.

On the other hand, if they could push him to the other side of that line…

Not that Izuku would ever suggest that his classmates put themselves in that position, but if he was going after Izuku, he wouldn't be watching the rest of them. Izuku would just have to take a page from Karma-kun and figure out how best to piss him off. Then Karasuma-sensei and Korosensei could come in and take care of Takaoka-san without anyone "quitting."

"Come, Karasuma-sensei," Korosensei finally spoke, his eyes never leaving Takaoka-san. "We need to talk."

With that "settled" (the class knew, _hoped_, that their teachers would be back soon), Takaoka-san turned his attention back to the class. "Well, you kids heard me the first time!" he said, sliding back into his jovial persona. "Three sets of one hundred squats! Line up!"

The class hesitated but began falling into line. They just had to hold out long enough for the teachers to do something. At least, that's what most of them were thinking. Izuku waited a moment longer, watching his teacher's talk. He then turned back to Takaoka-san, who was watching him with a smile that had gone slightly cold. Should he do something now? Or should he wait a moment longer and give the teachers some time to plan?

"Midoriya-kun?" Takaoka-san called out, drawing the attention of the class. "That is you, right?"

"Uh, yes, Takaoka-san," Izuku answered, before falling into line. Just a moment longer.

Takaoka-san nodded, his smile growing firmer. "Alright, kids, hop to!"

He waited for them to raise their arms above their heads and begin the first set before turning away to watch the other teachers.

Izuku joined his classmates at first, but quickly came to a stop when he noticed Takaoka-san wasn't paying attention. Izuku could feel the eyes of his classmates on him, watching and waiting to see what would happen as they forced themselves to continue, not ready to take the risk themselves, but Izuku ignored them. Instead he kept his attention solely on Takaoka-san. He didn't like the way the man was watching Karasuma-sensei, not that there was anything he could do about it.

"Hey, com'on, man," Kimura-kun whispered from next to Izuku, "it's not worth it."

Izuku just waved him off. A small ripple went through the class, but Izuku continued to ignore it.

"Goddamnit, Deku," Terasaka-kun whispered behind him, "what are you trying to do?"

Izuku barely flinched at the old insult. He hadn't realized how much he had gotten used to not hearing it once he moved to 3-E. But that wasn't important. Izuku ignored the comment entirely. It wasn't like he could answer.

"Midoriya-kun, just drop it," Kataoka-san added from somewhere behind Izuku to his left.

Izuku just quietly shook his head. Takaoka-san was finally taking notice. He had heard that last whisper.

"If you can still talk, then you aren't-" he froze when he finished turning around and saw Izuku standing there, not a single drop of sweat on him. "I think I'm starting to see why your father left you, Midoriya-kun," he said, keeping up his smile. "You need a firmer hand. It must have been too much of a challenge for him."

Izuku glanced at Karasuma-sensei one last time before devoting his attention to Takaoka-san. He swallowed once and steeled himself. "You make a horrible father, Takaoka-san," he said. "Makes me wonder who you looked up to as a child."

Gasps filled the air, and Izuku could see some of his classmates slow or stop their squats.

"Keep going, kids," Takaoka-san said, forcing his persona to hold in place. "You don't want to throw your lot in with a troublemaker like Midoriya-kun! This is your last warning, boy."

Izuku crossed his arms and glared. He wasn't usually obstinate, but he'd seen Kacchan kick up a fuss enough times growing up to know the script.

The mask fell. His kind grin slid out of the way for an angry scowl and gritted teeth for just a second before he fixed it back in place once more.

"Then I suppose your father needs to punish you," he said, grinning as he pulled a fist back. The fist fell, and Izuku let it. He may have only had a few sessions at the new dojo, but that along with a childhood of running from bullies meant he could easily have dodged or blocked a right hook that obvious or wide.

The next thing Izuku knew he was on the ground. His head ached, and his ears were ringing, but he could just make out people yelling in the distance. The sun was too bright, but it was rapidly getting more manageable.

Why was Izuku on the ground again? Something about bullies?

No, he hadn't been cornered by any bullies since Korosensei joined the staff. Hadn't even seen Kacchan around. And wasn't he at school?

The voices stopped.

Maybe a training exercise had gone wrong? That sounded about right, but something was missing…

A new voice broke through the silence. That was Karasuma-sensei. He was saying something to… Nagisa-kun? Why was he talking to Nagisa-kun? Maybe Izuku could figure that out if he could focus enough to hear what they were saying. They weren't that far away from him.

Small and thin appendages wrapped around his shoulders and head, lifting him slightly and turning him to face something large, yellow, and round which was now blocking out some of the light.

"Midoriya-kun, can you hear me?" Korosensei said quietly.

"YesSen'ei," Izuku answered quickly, his tongue heavy in his mouth.

"That's good." Korosensei's voice was calm and soothing against the noise of whatever the rest of the class was doing in the background. "Does anything hurt?"

Izuku scrunched up his nose at the reminder, his eyes closing. "Head," he mumbled.

"Keep your eyes open, Midoriya-kun," Korosensei said, his voice becoming stern. "Do you remember what happened?"

Did he? A new voice broke through the haze. It reminded him of…

"New person. Bastar'. He… he hit me."

"That's right, you provoked him."

"I'wa' gonna be some'ne," Izuku retorted.

Korosensei hesitated for a moment. "You still shouldn't have provoked him, Midoriya-kun. It is wonderful that you wanted to protect your fellow classmates, but you need to consider your own safety as well. You can't help anyone if you can't move."

Izuku turned his gaze away. Korosensei had a peculiar way of expressing pride while also pointing out your mistakes. It felt to Izuku a bit like he was a disappointed parent.

"Midoriya-kun, your mind is your greatest asset," Korosensei said, resting the tip of one tentacle on Izuku's forehead. "You need to protect it and use it, find a better way, and have a little faith in your teachers and partners to look after you the same way you want to look after them. We all care for you and don't want to see you hurt."

A loud cry erupted from Izuku's classmates, and Izuku tried to twist to look and see what had happened, but Korosensei's tentacles held him in place. "It seems Nagisa-kun was able to finish the fight for you, Midoriya-kun. Karasuma-sensei will be here in a moment."

Izuku nodded slightly. "Korosen'ei?"

"Yes, Midoriya-kun?"

"Thank you."

"It's the least I could do for one of my students."

Footsteps approached rapidly. "How is he?" Karasuma-sensei asked, falling to his knees on Izuku's other side. The class fell silent, remembering what had started the fight in the first place.

"He seems to have a concussion at the very least," Korosensei answered promptly.

Karasuma-sensei nodded and reached forwards and slid his arms under Izuku, lifting up gently. Korosensei's tentacles released Izuku into the care of his P.E. teacher.

"Get your rest Midoriya-kun," Korosensei said softly, "and don't forget what I told you. I'll call the chairman, have him inform Midoriya-kun's mother while you take him to a hospital," he told Karasuma-sensei.

"That won't be necessary." Asano-san stepped through the last of the foliage the separated the forest from the satellite campus. He nodded carefully to Karasuma-sensei. "Take care of the boy, I'll handle taking out the trash and calling Midoriya-san."

Karasuma-sensei nodded in return and began his trek through the woods. Izuku relaxed in his teacher's arms. He and his classmates were safe. Takaoka-san would be leaving, and everything would be alright. As soon as his head stopped hurting, that is.

* * *

**Just a quick note for anyone new to my work or not quite sure what's going on yet. This is an on going series and will have new posts every other week on Thursdays. We are not anywhere near done with this just yet.**

**I've been thinking about doing something different here on FFN to make this a little more contained and easier to navigate, but haven't made any decisions just yet. Specifically, I'm looking at either setting up a community for this or just combining the one shots into one larger fic. If you have ideas or a preference, feel free to let me know. In the mean time, if you have an account, it might be best to follow me to make sure you don't miss anything.**

**Or you could go to AO3 where I have it set up as a series proper.**

**Let me know what you guys think, and I'll see you next time,**

**NoS**


	5. First Encounters

_**Izuku wants to do something. Anything.**_

_**Sentoki-sensei isn't having it. She is not about to have a concussed child fighting in her dojo.**_

_**Aizawa doesn't know who this kid is, but he's about to find out.**_

* * *

Izuku focused on putting one foot in front of the other and the comforting presence of his mom beside him. She wouldn't normally walk with him to Sentoki-sensei's dojo, but she was understandably concerned that the concussion mixed with the unfamiliar route would cause problems.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Inko asked as the dojo came into sight. A small and nondescript space rented out of a larger and even more nondescript building. That was how Sentoki-sensei liked it; no advertising, just teaching.

Izuku quirked a smile at her. "I'm sure," he answered. "Even if I was silly enough to try and joining the exercises with a concussion, Karasuma-sensei has probably already told her about it." He paused in front of the door. "We get out at 9:30. I'll see you then."

Inko hesitated. "How about I wait a few minutes before I leave, just in case. Sentoki-sensei might decide to send you home, after all."

Izuku nodded. "If I'm not out in five minutes, you can go home."

With that agreed on, Inko glanced around for a place to wait, and Izuku turned to walk inside. In the small entryway that served as a lobby, Sentoki-sensei was waiting, greeting her students as they passed to the changing rooms. She was a large woman, standing above six feet with wide shoulders. Her hair was a simple brown and stopped just above her chin, with one side cut slightly longer than the other. Her eyes landed on him and went cold. Izuku winced, stepping out of the way. "I wasn't planning on trying to sneak past you or work on any physical training today," he said quickly, before she could launch into a tirade berating him for not taking care of himself.

Luckily, his statement took the wind out of her sails for a moment. "I just want to watch," he continued. "I know I'm not cleared for anything strenuous, and I know Karasuma-sensei already told you about what happened. Please, I just need something to do."

She raised an eyebrow. "You need something to do, huh?"

Izuku nodded, then winced slightly. It wasn't as bad as it had been, but moving his head too fast was still a big no-no. "Please, I'm not allowed to do anything. It's going to drive me nuts if I don't find something to keep me busy soon. I won't write anything down or do anything else the doctors told me not to. I'll just sit out of the way and watch."

"Is this young man begging for lessons?" A tired gruff voice came from behind Izuku, startling him, and making him jump. He turned with deliberate slowness, moving back a step to allow the newcomer into the conversation. His face matched well with his voice, with bags under his eyes, a stubbley beard and mustache on his face, his hair pulled back into a messy bun, and his slumped posture all conveying just how tired he was with the world and, apparently, people begging Sentoki-sensei for lessons.

"No, Aizawa, he's already got lessons, but he's also got a concussion," she answered.

Aizawa-san's eyes moved back to Izuku, looking over him again with a new curious expression, rather than the tired dismissal they'd had before. Izuku swallowed nervously. He knew he was a bit of an odd duck, and on thin ice with Sentoki-sensei, as a result of Karasuma-sensei's meddling.

This was an advanced class of students that he hypothetically shouldn't have been able to get into, but it also worked best with his schedule and would allow him to be in a better position when exams rolled around. Really the only reason Sentoki-sensei allowed it was because Karasuma-sensei had told her Izuku already had some training from him and had agreed for it to be on a trial basis. If Izuku couldn't catch up and keep up to her satisfaction, she'd drop him faster than Korosensei could grade their homework.

"He's in this class?" Aizawa-san spoke up, breaking Izuku out of his thoughts. Thoughts Izuku had no doubt had left his mouth as terrified muttering. He hoped he hadn't said anything too bad.

"Yes," Sentoki-sensei sighed. "Right, I should introduce you two. Midoriya-kun, this is Aizawa Shouta. He helps out periodically and is one of my oldest students. Aizawa, this is Midoriya Izuku. He has joined this class as a trial and a favor to a friend. And he really should be going home."

Izuku said nothing. If Sentoki-sensei was going to kick him out, there really wasn't much he could do about it.

"You said you were just going to watch?" Aizawa-san asked him.

Izuku blinked. "Uh, yes, sir. Just watching."

Aizawa-san hummed. "It is your decision, Sentoki-sensei, but I think he should be allowed to watch."

"He's a sneaky one," Sentoki-sensei warned.

Aizawa-san shrugged. "And you'll have some extra eyes on him today. I'm more than familiar with keeping track of rowdy teenagers."

Sentoki-sensei snorted Aizawa-san's seeming joke, judging from both her reaction and the slight twitch of his lips, but Izuku wasn't quite sure what had passed between them. Either Aizawa-san was a teacher, or he had some kids of his own. Sentoki-sensei turned back to Izuku. "Today's your lucky day, kid," she said. "Now, go get changed."

Izuku straightened up and beamed. "Thank you!" he said, bowing quickly to both of them, wincing again at the sudden movement, and walking as calmly as he could into the changing rooms.

"You know," he heard Sentoki-sensei say with a smile in her voice as he left, "I heard he's trying for UA."

He never got to hear Aizawa-san's response.


	6. A Wolf or a Cow

_**Terasaka Ryouma hates Korosensei. He hates this class and their assassinations. He hates how much everything has changed, but above all else he hates that quirkless Deku that won't stay in his place.**_

_**Shiro knows Tersakak's hate makes him blind and easy to control.**_

* * *

Class 3-E. The end class. The bottom of the barrel. Ryoka had thought he'd find people like him down here. People that weren't concerned with grades or appearances. People he could have fun with. Instead of a stagnant place where he could force his way to the top of the hierarchy, he found a place of growth. Everyone was doing better under that monster's tutelage. He'd at least hoped the quirkless loser would stay in his place, but even he kept climbing. His grades had risen steadily with Korosensei's help, and he even seemed to be growing a spine.

At least, he assumed that's why Korosensei had been on his ass before he even managed to move in the Deku's direction to remind him of his place after he jumped up to place 72nd in the school, compared to his old rank of 164 and Ryoka's current rank of 159.

Of course, Korosensei hadn't liked anything Ryoka had to say about the matter and sent him out doing random shit in the woods for a week after that. And then doubled down on his lessons to get him back up to speed with the rest of the class. As much as Ryoka hated him and tried to ignore the damn octopus, he still wound up actually learning.

Which is why when that Shiro bastard gave him a plan and some money, he went with it. Destroying the pool had been a blast, and the added cash didn't hurt. Watching the other students despair their precious pool had been well worth it, too.

Of course, the damn quirkless shit had to go and start thinking again, giving Ryoka and his friends a weird look rather than despairing like the rest of the class. "The hell are you looking at, Deku?" he snarled, stepping forward to grab the flinching boy by the front of his shirt. "Do you think we're the culprits or something? What is that going to get you?"

Deku only had the grace to look scared for a moment before getting this look on his face and opening his mouth like he actually had something to say.

"You're absolutely right," Korosensei interrupted. "Looking for a culprit isn't going to do any good, so let's not worry about that." And just like that, the pool was fixed. "There you go! Good as new! Please, go play like this never even happened."

… Ryoka hated that octopus.

He continued with the plan, even if things kept falling apart. Even if his friends, Taisei and Takuya and Kirara, were getting into this monster's lesson plans.

It would work. It had to work. The octopus would be dead, and everything would go back to normal. They would have a normal teacher, and everything would be the way it was supposed to be.

Only the rest of the class wasn't willing to listen to him. Go along, maybe, but not listen. Something to do with him not helping out with their assassination attempts.

"You'll do what I ask, won't you Deku?" he said, pushing the quirkless brat against the wall where he'd cornered him.

"No, I won't," he growled back, "and don't call me that. It's not my name."

"You think you get to tell me what to do? You're nothing."

"If I'm nothing, I'd hate to know what you are." Deku glared harder. "If you won't respect me, I'm not going to help out, no matter what Korosensei says. I'm going to stay here, and when you come back all disappointed because you failed, I'll be waiting for you. I sure as hell am not going to waste my time on the half assed plan you have cooked up. Seriously, how are you planning on getting him in the water? He's not going to do it just because you asked nicely or waved a gun in his face."

"You little-"

Deku slammed a fist in Ryoka's stomach, then quickly body checked him to the side and knocked him to the ground, dancing out of reach before Ryoka could react. "I'm not some little kid you can pick on anymore. I'm not gonna let you, or anyone else, pick on me just because I don't have a quirk. I can more than look after myself." Deku stormed off before Ryoka could recover.

Ryoka growled to himself and pulled himself up. He had enough self-control and self-respect to not charge the smaller boy's turned back before he disappeared around a corner. Barely. It didn't matter anyway. The plan didn't need anyone as useless as him, and that was one less person to split the reward with.

* * *

Izuku heard the explosion and knew Terasaka had done something stupid. How stupid he couldn't tell just yet, but it looked like he was going to go back on his word just to make sure the rest of his classmates were fine. Curse his heroic heart.

When he reached the pool, he realized just how much he had underestimated Terasaka's bullheadedness. The pool was completely empty and the dam Korosensei had built to make the pool was gone, bits of rubble littering the ground near where it had been.

In front of him, at the poolside, was Terasaka and Karma-kun. "This wasn't your plan at all," Karma-kun said. "Those two completely used you."

"I'm telling you," Terasaka yelled, hysteria taking over his voice and face, "this ain't my fault Karma-kun! The ones who set this up are the real bad guys! And everyone getting carried away by the water. It's all because of them…"

"Don't pretend you did nothing," Izuku hissed, causing Terasaka to jump and spin to face him. "You took credit for this plan. You called it your own and lead everyone astray by letting them believe someone as incompetent as you was pulling the strings. If they'd known who was really behind this, I doubt anyone would have listened to you." He glanced at Karma-kun for conformation.

Karma-kun nodded. "Shiro-san and Itona-kun," he said, by way of explanation. "You're lucky the target moves at Mach 20," he said, icy calm, "or you'd be guilty of mass murder. You got carried away, so how about instead of pointing fingers, you do something to fix it." He began making his way down the slope, following the small bit of water towards their classmates. Izuku shot Terasaka a burning look and followed. Even if Terasaka wouldn't think of something either he or Karma-kun would.

They arrived to Shiro-san monologuing. It wasn't much, just listing off weaknesses he'd taken advantage of. Nothing overly useful, thought Izuku made note of what he said all the same.

"He can only manage so much with the water as a handicap," Kataoka-san said.

"It's not just the water," Terasaka said as he stepped out of the underbrush and onto the cliff face as the fight rang out below them. "It's because he saved you guys. Take a look above him."

Sure enough, there were students still within reach. And if Hara-san's branch broke… it wasn't looking good. The class rambled on for a little bit, while Izuku watched the fight go on. As much as he could watch a fight faster than the speed of sound. It didn't take long for the rest of the class to figure out what Terasaka had been up to, and for Terasaka to confess his roll. "Guys with no drive like me are destined to be manipulated," Terasaka said. "But you know what, I want to choose who's gonna pull my strings from now one. I've had enough of these guys. I don't care about the reward money either. Karma-kun, Midoriya, I'm all yours."

Izuku's head jerked up at the sound of his name. As much as he'd been listening, he didn't expect Terasaka to involve him, much less actually use his name. He could see some of the other classmates were just as surprised as he was, but only a few that knew enough to realize it was weird. Izuku shared a glance with Karma-kun. "He's all yours," Izuku said. "Tell us what to do to clean up his mess."

Karma-kun gave him one of his signature looks. "Are you sure you want to go with my plan," he purred. "You might just die."

"I'll do it," Terasaka said, striding forward. "I can get it done."

"Even though I haven't told you yet?"

Terasaka stopped and sputtered.

Karma-kun clapped his hands. "I've got it!" he said, his voice dripping with false cheer. "Let's forget about rescuing Hara-san!"

What. That was…

Terasaka exploded on the snickering Karma-kun. Okay, so that was just to get a reaction out of them. Fine. Although…

"You said you wanted Karma-kun to take your strings, Terasaka," Izuku reminded him, "so while I'm glad you've learned to question things, Hara-san is right where she needs to be. Do what he says."

Terasaka huffed but shut up and listened while Karma-kun gave a swift dressing down for wearing the same shirt two days in a row, among other things. Eventually, Terasaka got huffy again and demanded instructions, but things went smoothly after that. Terasaka even followed his instructions to the letter. He antagonized Itona-kun and Shiro-san and took the hit exactly like he was told, making the opening they needed to let Korosensei save Hara-san and jump down to help level the playing field a bit themselves.

Things settled down quickly after that. Shiro-san and Itona-kun retreated, Hara-san had some words for Terasaka, but the class quickly returned to normal. Well, almost. Normal would be Terasaka still being angry and isolated from the rest of the class and hating everything about this whole mess. And everything about Izuku.

At least someone learned something from this.

* * *

**Okay, quick note. No, Terasaka isn't magically "better" now. In the original, he kinda is, but the original isn't addressing any kind of bigotry. He has figured out that Izuku isn't bellow him, same as he suddenly figured everything else out with the class and Karma, but he sees Izuku as the exception, not the rule. Put him in front of another quirkless person, and it would be back at square one.**

**And no, Izuku hasn't magically forgiven Terasaka either. He can get along with him, but it's going to take a while before they can be more than just civil to each other. That's part of why I had Izuku step back and let Karma take over instead of involving himself too much. He'd rather keep his distance.**


	7. Summer Threats

_**Class 3-E is excited for their summer vacation to Okinawa. Sure, it's not exactly a normal vacation when you consider that they're trying to assassinate their teacher, but it still promises to be a fun time. Too bad they can't prepare for everything that will come their way while on the Island.**_

* * *

"You know, while we're practicing, we really should break that muttering habit of yours, Midoriya-kun," Karma-kun said while the class was taking a break.

Izuku glanced up from his notebook. "Huh?"

"He's right, Midoriya-kun," Karasuma-sensei said. "Your muttering could very well give away the plan. It hasn't been much of a problem until now, but this is a delicate operation that relies on your target not knowing what's going on."

"I guess," Izuku conceded, closing his notebook. "But no one's ever been able to understand my muttering before."

"Eh, we get bits and pieces of it," Nagisa-kun shrugged, "but we're talking about a super being that can fly at Mach 20 and take spilled soup from the air and put it safely back in the pot without losing a single drop."

"He can understand you," Karasuma-sensei cut in. "I know because he's talked to me about some of the things you've said. From analyzing heroes and your classmate's quirks to that exercise plan you messed with back in the beginning of the year. He knows exactly what you're saying when you mutter, and there are other people that have quirks that could replicate that. You need to start being careful about what you say."

Izuku's jaw dropped. "He- oh, god." his face turned red. "Yeah, okay. I really need to learn how to stop talking. Anyone have any idea how to do that?" Izuku was pretty sure he'd never said anything about All Might or One for All directly, but he couldn't remember everything he'd ever muttered around Korosensei. He couldn't even remember every time he started mumbling in the first place.

An uncomfortable silence hung over the field. "I have some ideas," Karma-kun purred, a devilish grin quickly spreading across his face.

Izuku's eyes widened and he turned to Kayano-san. "Help me," he whimpered.

"That's enough, Karma-kun," Karasuma-sensei interrupted. "I have a few ideas," he said, turning back to Izuku and ignoring Karma-kun's pouting face. "They won't necessarily be pleasant, but they'll be better than what Karma-kun can come up with."

Izuku nodded. The class gathered around and listened carefully. Afterall, Izuku and Karasuma-sensei couldn't do it on their own. Izuku was supposed to consciously try to avoid muttering as much as he could, and every time someone heard him, they would point it out. When it was clear that was too slow, they distributed spray bottles. Izuku couldn't say he liked it, but it was much more effective, and he really did need to stop muttering. He had far too many secrets to afford running his mouth without paying attention.

When they broke for the day, Karasuma-sensei gave Izuku a thin rubber band, seeing as Izuku was getting more aware, just enough to cut himself off when it started, he could catch himself. The rubber band was to lightly whap himself. Again, couldn't say he liked it, but he couldn't exactly argue either.

By the time the trip came around, Izuku was muttering significantly less, but was still muttering, unfortunately. The class decided that since they didn't really need to hide that they were plotting from anyone, they could just keep Izuku as far from Korosensei as possible.

Overall, everything was going fine. Until it wasn't.

Failing to kill Korosensei was disappointing, but it just meant they needed to recalculate. They couldn't have known about his ultimate defense, and they had actually gotten close. They had managed to pull the wool over his eyes. Then classmates started dropping like flies.

At first everyone was scared, yes, but they simply didn't know what was going on. The phone call changed that. Izuku felt his blood run cold when he heard that they had been poisoned. Roughly half the class was being affected. His blood turned to ice when the assassin said to send Korosensei up with the blue haired boy and the green haired boy. He was more than willing to go.

But that wasn't their plan. Instead, they broke in. They snuck up the building, passing completely undetected. They were seconds away from jumping the bastard and taking the cure when things changed again.

They had successfully made their way to the top floor. They had a plan of attack and were approaching for the kill, and then he spoke. An innocuous word. "Itchy." Nothing more. Then he kept talking, saying how his senses had become sharp. Izuku hardly dared to breath at the implication. Then he scattered countless remotes, tossing them in the air and letting them clatter to the ground. "I told you," he said, back still turned to them, "I came prepared to kill a Mach 20 monster." Izuku swore he knew that voice. Why did he know the voice? "I made enough spare remotes that even if one was stolen or destroyed or I was so carelessly defeated, I could still press the button at any time."

The bloodlust in the room was rising, and Izuku and his classmates fought down the urge to shuffle back, feeling the killing intent rolling off both this man and Karasuma-sensei. "The reason we couldn't hire any hitmen for this operation, and so many were involved here," Karasuma-sensei spoke slowly, his voice low and just barely controlled, "was because the Ministry of Defense's secret funds, set aside for assassinations, had been completely withdrawn, at the same time a colleague of mine disappeared." In a second, his rage seeped a little further through, his voice rising and straining. "What is the meaning of this, Takaoka!?"

The man at the desk swiveled to face them, a grin splitting his scratched-up face. "What naughty children," he growled, "you come to visit and take the back entrance? Your father would never have taught you like this." Takaoka-san chuckled, and Izuku swallowed back his fear. "Guess I have no choice but to give you some supplementary lessons for your summer vacation."

He rose calmly from his chair, the anger seeming to vanish from his face in a second. "Let's head on up to the roof. I've got a little surprise prepared for you up there." He glanced over his shoulder briefly, waving the remote in the air. "You'll come along, won't you? After all, your classmates are relying on you."

The bloodlust still permeated the room, chilling their bones and holding them still and silent. Slowly, one by one, Izuku and his classmates unfroze, and followed Takaoka-san up the final flight of stairs. The kids huddled together carefully, with Karasuma-sensei quickly taking the lead, trying to place himself between this madman and his students.

At the top, Karasuma-sensei called out to Takaoka-san. "Have you had a change of heart?" he asked, glaring at the helipad. "You hired the hitmen with stolen money and needlessly infected the students with a deadly virus!"

"Hey, now," Takaoka-san laughed, "don't get so uptight! If you had just sent me the two kids like I asked, everything would have gone smoothly, and the world would be safe right now. In my assassination plan, I was going to put Midoriya-kun, the ungrateful brat, in the bathtub with the target and anti-sensei material. I would have sealed it up nice and tight in cement with enough air to keep him going." Izuku could feel himself starting to shake. Takaoka-san was going to bury him alive? "Eventually, that little defense form would have to wear off, and in order to escape without touching any of the anti-sensei material, he would have had to set off a large explosion." But Sensei wouldn't… Sensei wouldn't hurt him. Izuku could feel his throat closing up. Korosensei would have died trying to protect him, only to leave Izuku to slowly suffocate in the darkness, unable to do anything. _Worthless. Useless. Deku._ "But your sensei is so considerate of his students, isn't he? He wouldn't let you die just to save himself. No, I figured he'd just dissolve quietly."

Izuku felt a hand brush his shoulder before slowly tightening. His lungs burned and his throat clogged, choking on air. The person next to him started whispering instructions. Something about his breathing, but Izuku couldn't quite make it out, much less actually breathe. Takaoka-san was still talking, but it all seemed so far away. Korosensei responded from his sealed sphere. Izuku didn't know what was going on anymore.

Takaoka was talking again. He sounded angrier. He was losing it again. Izuku leaned against the hand on his shoulder and forced air into his lungs. Whoever was talking to him sounded relieved for a second and quickly kept coaching him through getting his breathing under control.

"I can't even sleep at night!" Takaoka roared, snapping Izuku's attention back to him. "I'll show them. I'll cover my disgrace with results. I'll return the humiliation I receive tenfold! Especially you, Shiota Nagisa! I will never forgive you for ruining my future!"

Whispers broke out around them. Izuku shot a quick glance of gratitude over his shoulder at Kanzaki-san, who nodded back, but didn't remove her hand. Karma-kun spoke up quickly, silencing the rest of the class. "So you called Nagisa-kun to clear up some petty resentment. Would you really be happy going all out on this little guy, though? I bet I could give you some much better entertainment."

Izuku felt a slight smile pull at his lips. That was a halfway decent idea, if there was any chance of Takaoka-san taking the bait. Karma-kun would do better than Nagisa-kun in such a head on fight where the opponent knows what to expect. Unfortunately, Takaoka is too smart and single minded for that to actually work.

"You must be losing it with your old age," Terasaka spoke up. Izuku felt himself startle at how red he looked, with sweat pouring down his brow. He must have been infected. How had he made it all the way up here suffering under the virus? "You lost to Nagisa-kun under your own rules. No two ways about it. And let me tell you something: whether you won or lost, we still would have hated your guts."

"I never asked you brats for your opinion!" Takaoka roared. "Don't forget I can kill half of you with just the push of a finger! Shrimp!" he growled, turning to Nagisa-kun. "Come up here alone." He quickly turned around, climbing the steps up the helipad and taking the cure and bomb with him.

"Nagisa-kun," Kayano-san started, "you can't-"

Nagisa-kun handed her Korosensei. "I don't want to," he said. "But who know what he'll do like this if I don't. I'll try and talk him down."

"Nagisa-kun," Izuku said, "that's not going to work. He's not going to back down."

Nagisa-kun shrugged at him. "A chance is still a chance. And we have better odds with me going up than staying down here."

Izuku couldn't argue with that. He let Nagisa-kun go. As soon as he was up, Takaoka tossed down the ladder, cutting off any route up. "You lot stay down there," he called down, not taking his eyes off Nagisa-kun. Izuku couldn't hear anything after that over the buzzing in his ears. Nagisa-kun was alone.

Izuku watched as they talked. As Nagisa-kun got down in a dogeza and apologized. He watched as Takaoka walked calmly to the suitcase holding the cure and calmly, happily, blew it up.

Izuku screeched. He lurched forward, screaming. His classmates were going to die. Multiple sets of arms and hand grabbed him, wrapping around him, and wrestling him to the ground. His classmates would die slowly and painfully. The cure was gone, raining back to the ground among fire and shards of glass. Izuku sobbed and went limp. They had failed.

_Deku. Useless. Dead weight. Can't do anything right._

Izuku could hear Nagisa-kun's enraged cries but couldn't bring himself to watch. Instead he struggled harder. He needed to get up there. He needed to help. He refused to watch another classmate die when he could do something about it. He needed to get up there. The weight holding him down got heavier as his captors struggled to keep him still.

"You should worry more about yourself, you damn runt!" That was… Terasaka? "The only thing I need is a little sleep and this virus will be done for! Even if it's for trash like him, if you kill him, you'll be charged with murder. Are you really going to throw away your chance at the ten billion for a jackass like him? All because you couldn't keep your cool?"

"Terasaka-kun is right, Nagisa-kun," Korosensei spoke up. Izuku craned his head around, having stopped struggling to listen to the others. "There is nothing to be gained from killing this man, and if you become frantic, you will only put yourself at a disadvantage. Simply stun him and we will go question the poisoner bellow."

That was right. He was still down there. They could talk to him and get some more antidote.

"Oh, shut up," Takaoka grumbled. "It'll be pointless if he doesn't really come at me. I'll kill his honest intent in a humiliating way, then I'll finally be able to set aside my shame."

A beat of silence. "Nagisa-kun, pick up Terasaka-kun's stun gun," Korosensei instructed firmly. And Izuku was officially lost. Wasn't the point to defuse the situation? Not give Nagisa-kun more weapons? "That man's life and my life. That man's words and Terasaka-kun's words. You needed to decide which one carries more weight."

Yells broke out as Terasaka collapsed, but he quickly waved off their classmates, telling them to watch Nagisa-kun kick Takaoka's ass. Nagisa-kun prepared for the fight.

Izuku took a few deep breaths, reminding himself that it wasn't over just yet. Nagisa-kun was a skilled fighter, and they could interrogate Smog downstairs for the antidote. They could still win this one. He wriggled slightly when he felt his tears finally come to a stop and he thought his emotions were stable enough that he wouldn't do anything stupid. "Can you… can you let me up?" he asked slowly, trying and failing to flex his arms and move them off of him.

Karma-kun glanced down from his perch. "Are you going to try and get up there?" he asked.

Izuku started to shake his head but stopped when he heard Takaoka address them again. "I have three doses of the antidote left," he said. "If Nagisa-kun doesn't take this seriously, or any of you try and get in my way, I'll destroy these, too. It's not much, certainly not enough for everyone, but it's your last hope."

Izuku saw red but forced his muscles to lock instead of thrash. He couldn't risk the antidote. He couldn't do anything. _Useless. Weak._ "I won't get in the way," he ground out. He wouldn't. He couldn't. Izuku's classmates slowly and hesitantly got off of him. Hovering nearby just in case he lost it again while Izuku glared daggers at Takaoka and watched the ensuing fight with an analytical eye. The fight was brutal. Nagisa-kun took more hits than he gave. Getting worse and worse as time went on. Takaoka left no openings for him to slip through.

Izuku took half a step forward and growled under his breath when Takaoka threatened to torture Nagisa-kun to death but restrained himself before his classmates intervened.

Suddenly, Nagisa-kun changed. His entire demeanor shifted, and the battle shifted with it. What was he doing? Why was he-? Was that a nekodamashi? Sentoki-sensei had talked about it briefly when one of the other students brought it up, counseling them against it. She had said that while it was an actual technique, practical use was nearly impossible, from the execution to picking the right time. It was extremely difficult even for masters, and finding the right conditions made it almost useless in a real fight or a competition fight.

And Nagisa-kun had used it perfectly.

Takaoka was down. Nagisa-kun lifted the man's chin with the stun gun and looked him in the eye. There was a pause. A moment of quiet as a cool night breeze flowed in off the ocean, curling around them. Finally, Nagisa-kun spoke, "Takaoka-sensei, thank you very much." He released one final burst of electricity, and Takaoka collapsed.

A cheer rang out from the class and they charged the helipad. They congratulated Nagisa-kun before the celebration died down, and they remembered what had happened. Karasuma-sensei called in a helicopter to take in Takaoka and was about to go find Smog when they were interrupted.

"Heh, you guys don't need an antidote."

A ripple of tension swept through the class, and they turned to find the three assassins they had fought climbing the helipad.

"Brats," the man from the auditorium huffed. "Did you really think that you'd all leave here alive?"

Clicks and ruffling fabric filled the air as each student grabbed a weapon or simply raised their fists, ready to fight for their lives. "Your employer has been defeated," Karasuma-sensei called back to them, keeping his stance relaxed. "You don't have any reason to fight us anymore. I've mostly recovered, and my students are plenty strong. Why don't you just surrender before we have any more casualties."

The man stuck his gun in his mouth. "Hmm, sure," he replied.

"Goddamnit!" Yoshida-kun yelled at them. "Don't you know when to give up!? We're pretty pissed, too- huh? Wait. Did you just say sure?"

"Revenge for the boss wasn't in the contract," he continued with a shrug. "Besides, I just said you don't need any antidote."

Smog chuckled. "All I gave you guys was this stuff," he said showing off a small bottle. "It's just an improved version of a little food poisoning. It'll only stay active for another three hours or so. Then it'll be completely harmless and just flush out of your system." Izuku blinked at them… food poisoning? "The one I told the boss I used is this one." He pulled out another small, thoroughly sealed vial. "If I'd actually used it, you guys would have been in some serious trouble." He laughed lightly.

"They… they'll be fine?" Izuku whispered.

The foreigner Karma-kun fought nodded. "Before we used it the three of us had a little discussion. The time limit for the exchange was one hour, which meant even if we used the food poisoning, there would be plenty of time to get the job done."

"I've got plenty of poisons for all kinds of jobs," Smog said. "For this it was enough for you kid to just fear for your lives, right?"

"But that means you went against Takaoka's orders," Okano-san said. "Is that alright when you're receiving payment from him?"

The gunman turned a cold glare on her. "Idiot. If you think a pro will do anything for money, you've got another thing coming."

"That's right," Izuku spoke up. "Assassins aren't villains. Criminals, yes, but not villains." Assassins were willing to use their quirks to their advantage, but often avoided it so they wouldn't become reliant and could cover their tracks, unlike villains who were known for their excessive quirk use. Most assassins also tried to keep the collateral to a minimum (but would cause some extra deliberately to do their job in some cases), while a villain never cared one bit about who else could be harmed.

"See," the gunman said, gesturing at Izuku, "this kid knows what's up." Izuku was pretty sure the rest of the class still didn't know what that really meant, but now wasn't the time. "We always do our best to do what the client wants, but even we have our limits. We figured out he was never planning on giving you the antidote, so we weighed our options. Either we participate in the mass murder of a bunch of school kids, or we take a hit to our reputation. It was a simple question of what's worse."

Silence fell over the group. It was hard to believe it was over. The night had never seemed to end, with one problem after another, always stacking higher.

"Well, that's all wrapped up," Smog said. "Here, give your people these nutrients to get them back on their feet," he tossed a bottle of pills their way. "They'll work so well everyone who was sick will be even better than they were before they were poisoned!"

Karasuma-sensei stepped closer as the helicopters he'd called in began to approach. "I'll trust you after the students have recovered," he said, "and there's a few questions I want to ask, so I'll have to detain you for the time being."

The gunman shrugged. "Yeah, alright. But I've got a job next week, so only until then."

Karasuma-sensei nodded and quickly began herding his students off the helipad, pulling Takaoka with them. The assassins and Takaoka were quickly packed away, along with all the other men Takaoka had hired as guards. Of course, Karma-kun had to take a moment to antagonize the assassin he had taken down, but it ended well enough that he only got a mild scolding from Nagisa-kun and a few others. The students and Karasuma-sensei took the second helicopter to save them the trip back down the mountain to their beachfront hotel. They had broken in after all. Explaining that to the front desk would probably be a little bit of a problem.

Izuku wasn't too worried though. It was over and everyone was safe. The exhaustion hit him like a ton of bricks. After spending the night out and all the fear and panic that had been coursing through him, the adrenaline leaving him left him with nothing. His eyes grew heavy, and he fell asleep to the whir of the helicopter blades and the comforting chatter of his classmates.


	8. Paying your Debts

_**Class 3-E did a dumb, and now they all get to pay for it. In the process, Izuku comes across a familiar sight.**_

* * *

**So, there was no good place to put this in really any of the stories, but Izuku has switched to his first name with the class. Well, most of the class. After what happened on Okinawa, Izuku kinda decided they deserved the right to use his first name.**

* * *

Izuku felt his phone buzz a distinctive pattern in his pocket and paused in his work. He thought for a second, then turned to All Might, who was loading up the bed of the truck for another run to the recycling center. He wasn't paying attention to Izuku. Not yet.

Izuku pulled out his phone and checked the message.

Ritsu: _"Korosensei would like to know your location."_

Izuku frowned at the message. _"Why?"_ he sent back.

"Hey, Yagi-san!" he called to his mentor.

"Ah, yes, Midoriya-shounen? What do you need?" All Might asked as he stopped loading the truck.

Izuku shook his head. "Something came up with my class. I don't know what it is yet, but I might need to leave early today. I might not be here when you get back."

All Might nodded slowly. "Well, alright then. Make sure to text me as soon as you know."

Izuku nodded and waved goodbye as All Might drove off. He checked his phone again.

Ritsu: _"The class has gotten into trouble and will be receiving communal punishment."_

Well. This was bad.  
Izuku: _"You can give him my location. Thanks for telling me, Ritsu-san."_

She sent a little smiley face back, and less than a second later, Korosensei was there next to Izuku.

Korosensei had a tentacle raised and his mouth open to start his speech, when he suddenly stopped and looked around. "Midoriya-kun," he spoke, "why are you in a dump?"

"Because it's not supposed to be a dump," Izuku answered quickly. "It's supposed to be a beach. I've been cleaning it up. Don't worry, no one else is here right now. You were going to say something about the class being in trouble, Sensei?"

Korosensei looked down at him. "Yes, I was. Do you remember what Karasuma-sensei told you when he started teaching you free running?"

Izuku nodded. "He told us that it was dangerous and to never use it outside of the mountain we train on." Izuku sighed, hanging his head. "Some of the class used it in town, didn't they?"

"Yes," Korosensei said. "They hurt a civilian in the process. I have worked out a suitable punishment and had decided that it was a lesson your entire class could do to learn, as we have been neglecting that part of their studies."

"Had?" Izuku asked.

"Yes, I am now reconsidering whether or not you need it."

Izuku blinked at him. "Um… whatever you decide, sensei. I just don't want it to interfere with my training too much."

Korosensei nodded. "We'll work out a slightly different arrangement for you, but you will still be required to help out your classmates." He hummed to himself. "Come, we need to speak with Matsukata-san."

Izuku nodded and followed his teacher, shooting off a quick text to Yagi-san saying he had to leave. "Uh, Korosensei?" he said slowly.

"Yes, Midoriya-kun?"

"Matsukata-san is the person they hurt, right?"

"Yes, he is."

"I assume the Ministry of Defense is working to figure out Matsukata-san's medical bills… but I might know someone who would be willing to help out with that. Uh, I can't really promise anything, because I haven't asked yet and I wouldn't be able to actually explain much about why I'm asking for the money, but-"

"I understand, Midoriya-kun. We'll talk about that with Karasuma-sensei after we talk to Matsukata-san."

"Yes, Sensei."

* * *

The hospital room Korosensei lead him to was filled to the brim with flowers and was inhabited by an old man with broken leg. A leg Izuku's classmates broke because they used their free running in an uncontrolled area.

"What is it now!?" the old man, Matsukata-san, barked as they entered the room.

"Matsukata-san," Korosensei greeted with a bow, which Izuku quickly copied, "I know we agreed that my entire class would run your school for you while you were sick, but there may be an exception."

Matsukata-san turned his glare at Izuku. "Well, shounen? Why do you think you should be exempt from your class's punishment?"

"This is Midoriya Izuku," Korosensei said before Izuku could answer, "and the exemption is my idea, not his. Midoriya-kun, if you would please explain to Matsukata-san what you were doing when I came to talk to you and why?"

Izuku gulped, but stepped forwards. If he'd had any doubts about Karasuma-sensei's claim that Korosensei always understood his rambling mutters, it had died with that statement. "I was cleaning Dagobah municipal beach," he said. "I-I use it for strength conditioning, as well as the added bonus of community service."

"Strength conditioning?" Matsukata-san interrupted.

"Er, yes," Izuku nodded. "I'm training for the entrance exams. I want to be a hero."

Matsukata-san raised his eyebrows. "Has this octopus told you what your class's punishment is to be?" he asked.

Izuku shook his head. "He mentioned taking over your school when we came in, but I don't know anything else."

Matsukata-san nodded slowly. "You said you were aiming for a hero school? Where are you applying?"

"Um, UA, sir. And a few other places."

"You must be busy."

"Yes, sir. I'm training or studying almost every night of the week."

Matsukata-san nodded slowly. "And you made some of that training cleaning up an illegal dump."

"Yes, sir."

Matsukata-san turned his attention back to Korosensei. "I'm willing to let him off a little easier," he said. "How about, he works the normal school hours, leaving his extracurriculars unaffected."

Korosensei nodded. "That is very kind of you Matsukata-san."

"I would let you off the hook entirely," Matsukata-san said to Izuku, "but I think your boneheaded classmates are going to need all the help they can get. Consider it another form of training."

Izuku nodded slowly. "What exactly am I going to be doing?"

* * *

Izuku honestly wasn't super upset about their "punishment." Sure, he was worried about how they were supposed to pass their midterms if they weren't studying for the next two weeks, and the kids could be a little loud and rambunctious, but they were kids!

At least the class was mostly willing to handle things and there didn't seem to be any resentment towards the students responsible.

Even if some of them were struggling and this place could use a lot of work to even make it safe.

"Hey, Izuku-kun, remind me why you get to leave early again," Yada-san asked him. It had to be the fifth time someone had asked him today.

Izuku sighed. "I told you, I'm not allowed to answer that. Korosensei wants you guys to learn a lesson from this and both he and Karasuma-sensei think that telling you would make it too obvious what they want to hear from you."

A groan went up from the nearby classmates. "Seriously, Izu-"

"No," Izuku interrupted Terasaka. "They get to call me Izuku. You will call me Midoriya. And no, I can't tell you anything."

* * *

Izuku groaned on the mats. "Up," Sentoki-sensei said. "Do it again."

Izuku groaned louder and pushed himself back up, ignoring the mild bruises beginning to form. He stood ready, watching his opponent. His much more experienced opponent that had been wiping the floors with him for the last… Izuku had lost count of how many rounds they had gone now.

Aizawa-san only gave him a moment to ready himself before moving forward again. His movements were fast and fluid. Izuku only managed to block or dodge the first few strikes before Aizawa-san broke through his defenses. Izuku, on impulse, latched onto Aizawa-san's arm and refused to let go as he tumbled down.

Aizawa-san, who hadn't been expecting the desperate ploy, tumbled down with him.

Izuku brought his knee up, aiming for Aizawa-san's gut and tried to twist and push Aizawa-san to the side to roll on top of him. Instead, Aizawa-san merely twisted slightly and leveraged his own weight against Izuku, pinning him firmly to the mat.

Sentoki-sensei sighed. "You are small and light, Midoriya-kun. Never try to grapple your opponent. Again."

"No," Aizawa-san said, standing up. "That's enough for now."

"I said again, Aizawa."

"He's exhausted. He won't get better if you keep pushing him. He's here to learn and grow. That move was desperate and came from someone that has lost far too much."

"Right now, he's here to learn humility."

Izuku sat up and wiped some seat off his face. "Karasuma-sensei told you? I didn't have anything to do with that."

"You plan on being a hero, don't you, Midoriya-kun?" Sentoki-sensei asked.

"Yes?"

"Then you are going to be a community leader. What your colleagues do will always reflect on you."

"What happened?" Aizawa-san asked as he offered Izuku a water bottle.

"Take a break!" Sentoki-sensei called over her shoulder at the rest of the class. The other students immediately stopped their drills and scattered for water around the dojo. More than a few sent Izuku a pitying look.

Izuku accepted the water bottle. "Some of my classmates did something reckless," he answered, "and people got hurt in the process." He pulled a face. "And I'm already being held responsible for their actions, Sentoki-sensei."

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you know? Cause from what I heard, you got off light."

"That's because I was already doing community work while they were being menaces. And you call not being able to study at all leading up to midterms light?"

"He's got a point," Aizawa-san said, a small smile starting to curl the edge of his lips. "This isn't productive."

Sentoki-sensei sighed again. "Alright. Yeah, I've put you through more than enough. Go join the rest of the class."

Izuku perked up and scrambled to his feet. "Thank you, sensei. Thank you, Aizawa-san."

* * *

A screech broke the air and startled everyone around. Izuku shared a glance with Kayano-san before following his ears to the source.

Three boys were near the edge of the property. One was cowering on the ground, crying, while the two others stood over him. Okosama-chan, Zatsuon-chan, and Osore-chan. If he remembered correctly.

"What's going on here," he asked as though he couldn't recognize the scene from his own childhood.

Okosama-chan glanced at the other boys briefly before scrambling to his feet and barreling into Izuku's legs. Izuku stumbled slightly but steadied himself. He bent down and wrapped Okosama-chan in his arms. He raised an eyebrow at Zatsuon-chan and Osore-chan. "Well?" he pressed.

The boys shared a nervous look. "We weren't doing anything," Osore-chan muttered.

Izuku kept waiting, rubbing Okosama-chan's back in the process.

"We were just playing around," Zatsuon-chan defended. "It's not my fault Okosama-chan is a baby."

Izuku sighed. "Let's go inside and talk about this," he said, pulling Okosama-chan up onto his hip as he stood. "Come on." He jerked his head and waited for the boys to start walking in front of him.

While they walked Okosama-chan calmed down some and his tears slowed to a stop, but his limbs had a fine tremor that Izuku could feel as the boy kept his head buried in Izuku's chest. When they got inside, Izuku took a quick glance around. "Hogosha-san," he called out, getting the older woman's attention, "do you have a private place I could talk to these boys?"

Hogosha-san hesitated. "Um, yes. There's an office down the hallway on the left."

When they arrived, Izuku pointed to a spot next to the door. "Osore-chan, Zatsuon-chan, you will wait here. When I'm done talking with Okosama-chan, I will talk to you."

Osore-chan's face twisted into a frustrated frown. "But-"

"No," Izuku cut him off. "You will wait here, and I will get you later."

The boys nodded and sat next to the wall. Izuku went in and closed the door behind them. "Okosama-chan?" he said gently. "Are you alright?"

The tremors hadn't stopped yet, but they had seemed to lesson. Okosama-chan shook his head.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Okosama-chan thought for a moment, then nodded, starting to uncurl himself slowly. Izuku gently set him down on one of the chairs and kneeled in front of him, so Okosama-chan was looking down at him. He sniffled softly and wiped at the tear tracks on his face.

"It was stupid," Okosama-chan said quietly.

"I'm sure it's not stupid," Izuku responded.

"Yes, it was."

"How about you tell me what happened, and I'll tell you if it's stupid."

Okosama-chan huffed. "You'll just say it wasn't stupid no matter what I say."

Izuku shrugged. "Why don't you talk to me and we'll find out."

"Fine. We were just playing around. That's all. I wanted to show them something cool I'd found out there yesterday, and while I was looking Zatsuon-chan used his quirk. It scared me."

Izuku raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And why did he do that?"

"His quirk let's him make loud noises, and he knows I'm scared of thunder. He… he likes scaring people," Okosama-chan was staring resolutely at his feet, ignoring Izuku.

"That sounds mean," Izuku prodded.

Okosama-chan didn't respond.

"Do you know what I'm gonna say next?" Izuku asked him.

"That it's not stupid," Okosama-chan grumbled.

Izuku smiled at him. "That's right. Do you know why?"

Okosama-chan shook his head.

"Because they hurt you, and you have every right to be upset at people that hurt you."

Okosama-chan looked up at Izuku for the first time since he started telling his story. "But they didn't even touch me."

"Maybe not," Izuku conceded, "but you don't need to touch someone to hurt them. They hurt you here," he said as he tapped Okosama-chan's forehead, "and here." He tapped the center of Okosama-chan's chest, right above his heart.

Okosama-chan looked confused.

Izuku thought for a moment. How could he explain this. "When Zatsuon-chan scared you, you were afraid. But not just a little afraid, like when someone jumps out around a corner or tells a scary story, right? It was more than that. Judging by how you were when I found you, you were probably afraid of being hurt, and, for a moment, you were afraid of him, right?"

Okosama-chan nodded but looked down again.

"Hey, no, look at me." Izuku gently pushed Okosama-chan's chin up. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. You did nothing wrong. Zatsuon-chan made you scared. Really, really scared. And then he laughed about it. That hurts people. Do you understand?"

"Kinda?"

Izuku nodded. "That'll have to be good enough for now. Just know, when you feel like that, it means you've been hurt somehow, and whoever did it should do the same thing they would if they'd hurt you physically."

Okosama-chan nodded. "Are you going to punish them?"

Izuku shook his head. "I can't do that. It's not my place. But, as an adult, I need to tell them what they did was wrong. I will be telling Hogosha-san about this as well."

Okosama-chan nodded.

"Alright," Izuku said, standing up and offering his hand to Okosama-chan, "I should get to talking to those boys. You can go if you want. Or you can wait. It's up to you."

Okosama-chan grabbed his hand and slid off the chair, following him to the door. Just as promised, the two boys were still sitting next to the wall waiting. Okosama-chan left with a small wave to Izuku, and Zatsuon-chan and Osore-chan stepped quietly inside.

Once settled in the office, Izuku began to talk. "Okosama-chan said you used Zatsuon-chan's quirk to scare him?" he prompted.

Osore-chan nodded. "Yeah. It was just a little prank. He should have been able to handle it."

Izuku looked at Zatsuon-chan. "We were just messing around. Everything would be fine if he weren't such a cry baby."

Izuku sighed. "There are two things wrong with this situation. Let's start with the simple one. You knew he is afraid of thunder, right?"

The boys nodded.

"Do you have anything you're afraid of?" Izuku asked.

"Um, spiders," Zatsuon-chan answered.

"And would you like it if someone put a big nasty spider on your arm, then laughed at you?"

"No," both boys answered.

"Do you understand why scaring Okosama-chan like that was wrong?"

The boys nodded again, shame crossing their faces.

"Good, at least that was easy to get through to you."

"Um, you said there were two things," Osore-chan asked.

Izuku nodded. "_Never_ use your quirk on someone like that without their permission. Using your quirk on someone is no different than touching them. If they tell you to stop, you stop. If you know they don't like something, you don't do it to them. If they don't know what you're going to do, you ask them if you can. Do you understand me?"

Osore-chan looked pale, but Zatsuon-chan just looked frustrated. "What about villains?" he asked.

Izuku raised his eyebrow. "We're talking about your classmates," he said, "but I'll answer. Let's say there's a villain. You should never use your quirk in a life-threatening situation unless you are trained to, like a hero would be, or there is no other option. Think hard about what you do. Villains can be unpredictable. While you made Okosama-chan cry, a villain might choose to hurt you instead."

Zatsuon-chan frowned but accepted the answer.

Izuku let the boys sit for a second. "Now, don't get me wrong," he knelt down in front of Zatsuon-chan. "You have a wonderful quirk, and it's nothing you should be ashamed of or afraid of. It's a part of you just as much as your hand is. You just need to be a bit more careful with how you use it. You're young, and you're learning. You can make mistakes, heck, people expect you to make mistakes, just make sure you learn from them."

The boys nodded again.

"Alright, that covers it, I think. Get going. Go play."

The boys scrambled up and scurried off.

Izuku just hoped they actually listened to him.

* * *

**Quick fun fact. What Izuku (and Okosama-chan) doesn't know is that Osore-chan was also using his quirk in that mess, and he's definitely in a worse position than Zatsuon-chan as far as shitty quirk use. (His quirk allows him to highten fear responses;) )**


	9. Plans A through F

_**When it comes to that special time of year where third year junior high students plan out their future, Izuku is more than ready to answer Korosensei's questions. Korosensei does have one question Izuku wasn't expecting. Afterall, just because someone could be great, doesn't mean the world will let them.**_

* * *

"Hmmm," Korosensei hummed, looking over Izuku's career counseling sheet, "No back up plan?"

Izuku frowned. "But you said-"

"You can be a hero? That you'd be great for heroics? Yes, I did," Korosensei nodded. "I also said it was going to be difficult to get a license. It might even be near impossible depending on how the deck gets stacked. That doesn't mean you can't help people. While you could turn to vigilantism, I would prefer you be able to live comfortably."

"V-vigilantism? I wouldn't-"

"Now, now, Midoriya-kun, we both know your heroic soul would get the better of you eventually. And we both know I wouldn't normally advocate for such illegalities, considering I want all of you to grow to your full potential, but you may find that the way this country writes its laws is rather… odd, and leaves a few wonderful little loopholes here and there. Now, do you have any ideas on what you'll do if you can't get your hands on a hero license?"

Izuku thought for a moment. "Being a paramedic or a doctor would be nice, but I don't think I have a strong enough grasp of human biology for that. Being a quirk scientist of some type would certainly play to my skills, but…" his face started to burn.

"But…" Korosensei prompted.

"I doubt I would find it fulfilling enough. I need to be able to help people more directly than that."

Korosensei nodded. "You're right. You do wonderful analysis and can see the best and worst parts of any quirk, but you thrive on seeing others do well. Keep going, Midoriya-kun."

Izuku nodded. "Maybe I could be a police officer. Or a detective?"

Korosensei smiled down at him. "I think detective would suit you best of the two. There are other options, for sure, but it's a start. Now, talk to me about the hero schools."

Izuku gave a firm nod. "Right," he said. "UA, of course. If I make it there, I'll have the best shot possible of getting a license, but it's also going to be the hardest to get into. They are notoriously secretive about their entrance exam, having examinees sign NDA's as soon as they arrive. Revealing the information could result in you being rejected from any other schools you applied to. They don't allow support gear in unless it is necessary and registered to you and your quirk. They do, however, allow examinees to bring in anything they could make themselves with supplies from a local hardware store, which of course means you can also bring in anything you could buy from the same hardware store. I'm also applying to their general studies department. If I can't get into any hero courses, I will still have a chance to earn a spot at the Sports Festival."

"And, failing even that, UA's general studies will be more than sufficient to prepare you for whatever comes next."

"Yes, Sensei."

"Continue, Midoriya-kun."

"Ken is the twelfth top hero school in the country, with a much higher rate of enrollment than UA, in part because of the lesser prestige, but also because they have more classes. Where UA only accepts 40 hero students every year, Ken accepts 80. They're also less secretive than UA about their test, but that's because the specifics change every year even if the general concept stays the same. They have a series of tests and challenges that are graded on an unknown metric but look at a wide variety of qualities that are essential to heroes of all types, including rescue and underground heroes as well as the more traditional front-line types. They also have a good track record of getting heroes through their licensing exams, but they tend to under prepare their students for the media coverage they have to deal with, something I'll be avoiding regardless."

"Isn't Ken rather far from here?" Korosensei asked.

"Er, yes, Sensei," Izuku said, startled out of his rather detailed report. "I figure if we're all still alive by then I'll have enough money to cover rent. If that… doesn't happen, Ken also doesn't have any rules against their students working part time jobs and has some funds set aside to help promising students. They might also have a deal with some of the local landlords. That part is a little unclear."

Korosensei nodded again, and Izuku continued. "Toku is largely unranked and, in a way, seems to be even more paranoid about their entrance exam process than even UA. They largely focus on underground heroics, with just enough emphasis on the traditional aspects that their students tend to pass the licensing exam, though at a significantly decreased rate compared to UA and Ken, and can function in more public issues during emergencies when all heroes need to respond. Toku is also a little far, but it's closer than Ken. They have dorms set up and actually encourage part time jobs. They say it is to get a better understanding of life for all members of the community and to help practice for undercover work."

Izuku could see Korosensei look intrigued at the idea of a school like Toku. One that would more or less continue the exact lessons he wanted his students to learn. Izuku pushed on before he could say anything else.

"Buntai," he said slowly. "I'm not sure what to make of Buntai. They should be the easiest to get into. They are the lowest ranking of the four, but they also struggle to get their students through the exams, with most students requiring at least two attempts, a small number passing on their first, and even smaller group passing on the third and fourth tries respectively, and the remainder giving up after their fourth. I like their ideals, with the emphasis on teamwork, but that could easily turn against me given…" Izuku pulled a face, "everything."

Silence fell between them.

"Only four schools?" Korosensei asked.

Izuku nodded. "I ruled out anyone that had any rules regard quirkless applicants. A lot of them denied admission to quirkless students, and some had rules that would make it harder. Some had rules that would make it easier, but looking closer, none of their quirkless students ever stayed for more than a year, which… doesn't speak well for what they actually think or why they have those rules. I also decided to stagger the exams I registered for to avoid overworking myself from tests and travel."

Korosensei's face turned red with the darker circle on it. "That is perfect, Midoriya-kun. How would you rank the schools, from easiest to hardest?"

"Uh, UA's general studies will definitely be the easiest. I'm a shoe in, based on the mock exams. I don't know where to put Buntai," he said, making the same face as before, "for the reasons mentioned previously. Whether or not I can get in will depend on who I get paired with for the exam and what kind of task they give us to complete." Korosensei nodded along. "Of the remaining, I would say that Toku will be the easiest after all of the training you've given us and will likely be a good fit for me overall. Ken has the most wiggle room for me to work with but has stricter rules about what can be brought in and is actually harder to plan for. UA, despite giving me the most information to work with, will definitely be the hardest. Between the challenge of the exam itself and the sheer number of people I'm competing against… it'll be hard."

Korosensei placed a comforting tentacle on Izuku's head and ruffled his hair slightly. "You've come a long way, Midoriya-kun. In your skills and in your self-confidence. You have grown in leaps and bounds and, in many cases, faster than any of your peers. Trust yourself. You'll be just fine, wherever you go, and whatever may happen. I approve of your plans wholeheartedly. You may go, now. Send in whoever's next."

Izuku beamed and thanked Korosensei with a bow before leaving the room. By the time he returned to his desk, tears were falling down his face. A few classmates, a few friends, came over to see what had happened and make sure he was alright. Izuku waved them off, telling them he was happy. Afterall, he was going to be a hero.


	10. Fight or Flight

_**Kurogiri hasn't been called to see his master for anything other than reports on Shigaraki Tomura since he met All for One's successor. As such, he's plenty surprised when he get's called on for a mission outside of caring for his ward. He's not particularly surprised when it goes wrong, but he is surprised at exactly how it played out.**_

* * *

**Little later in the day than I normally post, but that's just how things are gonna be. The school year just started up again, and I have a lot of morning classes. Right now, it doesn't look like I'll need to change what day I post, but we'll just have to wait and see.**

* * *

The summons from All for One were a surprise. Well, the summons themselves weren't a surprise. Kurogiri reported directly to All for One more often than Tomura would think. This time was just… not in the usual timeframe.

And not about Tomura.

The file offered to him was not something that would stand out. A simple manila folder. A rather thick manila folder with no actual markings on it.

He took it from his master's hand very carefully, unsure what kind of assignment he would be given. It had been so long since he'd had an assignment other than teaching and caring for Tomura that he had honestly forgotten how these things went.

"You're nervous," All for One observed.

"Yes, Sensei," Kurogiri answered. "I am… out of practice with many of the things you have asked of me in the past."

"Hm, that may be true," All for One answered him, "but I'm sure this won't be too much for you to handle. Or, rather, if it is, it will hardly be your experience at fault."

Kurogiri nodded. "What is my task?" he asked, opening the file. The first page showed a person with a very odd quirk that gave them a bulbous head and tentacles reminiscent of an octopus. Wait, no, that wasn't his quirk? He was _how fast!?_ "Am I to recruit this… man?"

"No, although it is a reasonable assumption. I would normally be very quick to snap up such an asset. But, no, I am interested in him for a very different reason. Read a little further."

Right. Kurogiri kept reading. Beyond the speed he had exceptional healing abilities, being known to regrow entire tentacles in only a moment. He was also incredibly intelligent, creative, and known to give his assailants makeovers. And he had some kind of defense form that made him invincible, but also made it impossible for him to do anything and very easy to move.

And his head was worth ten billion yen. Thirty billion if he was killed by a group.

"You want me to kill him."

"Indeed. I would ignore him, that much money, while lucrative, isn't necessary with our other sources of income. However, given the sheer power he possesses he can very easily be a threat. One that I also would have ignored if not for the fact that if he is not killed soon, he will destroy the world, and I do very much like living on this planet."

"I… will see what I can do."

"Kurogiri."

He stopped and waited for his instructions.

"Do not, under any circumstances, harm the children, and if at any point you feel yourself being overwhelmed or cornered, retreat. You are more valuable to me in the long run. Someone will handle this eventually."

"Yes, Sensei."

* * *

It hadn't taken long to figure out what All for One meant when he said, "don't hurt the children." The target (Korosensei, as said children called him), was a teacher and had taken rather well to the roll, quickly becoming attached to his students. And with that attachment came a protective streak wider than most heroes could claim. There was also the small fact that harming the students would make the bounty null and void and would probably piss off the equally attached government agent stationed at the schoolhouse.

All in all, it was a massive mess. Kurogiri would have loved to use the students against the monster, but that was likely to get him killed very quickly, given Korosensei's skill set.

Well, at the very least this would be good practice for their plan with All Might. And All Might was significantly slower than Korosensei.

Kurogiri opened a portal from outside the school, with the other end opening directly under where his target was standing. He'd barely even opened it when the creature was floating above him, his beady eyes looking down on him through the Cheshire grin that was permanently plastered across his face.

He'd gone through the portal. Kurogiri had felt him move through the space between, but he hadn't seen a single moment of the movement.

He was screwed.

He opened another portal.

Korosensei simply moved out of the way.

"Look close students!" Korosensei called out, not taking his eyes off Kurogiri._ Shit. When had the students gotten here?_ "This is how an assassin dresses!"

What? Kurogiri would have blinked if he had eye lids. All the while portals were opening and closing constantly as Kurogiri tried desperately to even catch a single tentacle in one. The monster just _kept moving_.

"The suit is clean and professional. It is well matched, but standard. Despite his unique quirk, you would never look twice at him if you walked past him on the street!" Was… was this man using him as a teaching moment? "It is common enough to pass for day wear, but nice enough to be worn among the upper class without a glance as well. This man could go wherever he wanted, and no one would bat an eye!"

Korosensei lunged forward and Kurogiri teleported to the other side of the field on instinct.

"I'm pretty sure he could go wherever he wanted with his quirk alone," one of the students drawled. A red head that wasn't wearing the school uniform for some reason.

"That may be true, Karma-kun, but the ability to blend into your surroundings is one an assassin must _never_ underestimate." Korosensei dodged another portal. "Now, can anyone tell me what this delightful man is doing _wrong?_" Yep, definitely a teaching moment.

"He's relying too much on his quirk," another student answered. _Green hair, freckles. Nothing particularly distinct._ "His attacks are straightforward and predictable. That's fine if he gets the drop on someone slower than him but take away either of those things and his whole plan of attack falls apart." _What the hell was he teaching these kids!? They're middle schoolers!_

"Very good, Midoriya-kun!" Another dodge. "There is one more thing wrong, and I'll give you a hint! It has to do with his wardrobe."

Kurogiri swore he could see the creature's eyes glint in the sun. Then he was suddenly in front of Kurogiri faster than he could warp away, the monster's tentacles wrapped around him, holding the facsimile of limbs he used in his civilian dress and sliding past his neck guard. Kurogiri froze.

"The neck brace?" a third student asked.

"Correct! While most of his body seems to be made of the same mist as his portals, this piece of armor suggests not all of it is. And, as the only visible piece of armor, it strongly suggests that whatever is underneath is highly vulnerable."

_Nope, nopenopenope._ Kurogiri was done with this. He was not staying this close to a man this powerful that knew his weakness and _was willing and ready to use it_. Kurogiri wrapped his quirk around himself, drawing in and pulling himself through to a new location. He came out in the bar sans neck guard.

Even with the bar empty, Kurogiri couldn't shake the feeling of vulnerability the swamped him. He felt _exposed._ He hid the unstoppable tremors beneath the shadows that wrapped so comfortingly around his body.

"Ah, Kurogiri," the voice from the screen in the corner spoke, "you're back sooner than I… what happened?"

"The target was… more than I could handle," Kurogiri admitted. He was ashamed to say his voice trembled when he spoke. "He analyzed my weaknesses and was positioned to exploit them before I managed to do anything to him."

There was silence on the other end. "I suppose I'm not surprised. He is faster than any other individual on record. Do not worry, Kurogiri, I will get you a replacement shortly."

"Yes, Sensei."

Kurogiri hoped All for One got him that replacement soon. He didn't think he was going to be willing to leave the bar until then. Or let anyone else in.


	11. Parent Teacher Conference

**_Everything has been all well and good for months. Izuku had control, and friends, and people supporting him. With everything settling into a nice routine, the Culture Festival looks like its going to be a fun break from their normal training. Of course, Inko has to go visit her son and his class to support them, and if she happens to have somethings she needs to say while she's there, then she'll say them._**

* * *

Izuku honestly didn't care much about the culture festival. These school competitions didn't mean much in the long run, but even he couldn't deny the thrill of it. He liked working out on the mountain. He liked the burn in his muscles and lungs. He liked the sun on his back and the fresh breeze that wove through the trees. He liked proving to the main campus that what those pretentious idiots thought of them meant nothing. Proving that he and his friends were worth something.

So maybe he cared a little, but it wasn't really about the festival. It was about working with his friends and getting stronger. And, well, Izuku doubted anyone could win against the connections Asano-kun had through his father, but that didn't mean 3-E wasn't going to give it their all and make an impression.

Izuku liked their plan.

Izuku, as one of their better free runners was put on foraging duty for the festival itself.

"Izuku, get your butt back to the classroom and change into our old gym clothes," Yada-san said through Izuku's earpiece.

"Huh? Why?" Izuku asked as he pulled up another of Korosensei's gourmet yams.

"Your mom's on her way up now. She's probably almost there."

Well, that was unexpected. "Yeah, I'm on my way back now. Busy down there?" He packed up his haul and booked it back. She was probably going to get there before he did.

"Yeah," Yada-san answered, "getting people up there is a full-time job. One I need to get back to now."

"Hey, Itona-kun," Izuku said, switching channels.

"Yes?"

"Do we have any walkie-talkies up there?"

"Why do you need a walkie-talkie?"

"To cover up that we're using our comms. My mom's on her way and the more 'normal' stuff I have the fewer questions she'll ask."

"Yeah, I've got a few. I can put the body back together for you."

"Thanks." Izuku slowed as he came closer to the schoolhouse, sneaking around the edges of their clearing. He didn't want to be seen right now.

Bitch-sensei, on the other hand, seemed to have no problems showing off her skills in front of Inko. Izuku wouldn't be surprised if Bitch-sensei didn't realize she was a parent.

Slipping around back Izuku dropped off the food and picked up his old gear. He changed quickly and stepped back to the woods to quickly rub dirt into the knees, elbows, and cuffs. He knew he had dirt on his hands and probably a few other places. If a kid is covered in dirt, but his clothes are clean, there's something weird going on.

"Mom!" he called out, waving as he stepped out around the edge of the building.

Both Inko and Bitch-sensei perked up. Bitch-sensei followed Izuku's gaze. "Oh, Midoriya-san!" she said, laying the charming young lady act on thick. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Oh?" Inko asked. "Like you were pleased to meet those young men?"

Izuku hid a grimace and forced a confused look across his face as he watched the two women interact.

"Oh, don't worry. I meant nothing by it," Bitch-sensei laughed. "I've simply learned that many young men are willing to go far to make a woman of my… type happy even if I have no intention of giving them what they want, and I'm more than willing to help my students earn a few more yen for the cause."

Yeah, the cause of beating 3-A.

"And you wouldn't happen to use those tactics on your students, would you?"

Izuku couldn't hide the blush that rose across his face. "Mom!" he squeaked. "She- No- B- I mean, Jelavić-sensei doesn't- wouldn't-"

Inko relaxed immediately. "I'm glad to hear that, Izuku." She turned back to Bitch-sensei. "Forgive me, I'm a single mother and I can be a little overprotective of my Izuku."

Izuku buried his face in his hands as his teacher laughed. At least what he'd said was partly true. He'd only had to ask Bitch-sensei not to do that to him once and she stopped immediately. The rest of the class still got it though, mostly because the boys kinda liked it. Or something like that.

"Oh, it's quite alright," Bitch-sensei answered, laughing. "I understand completely. Now, how about I give you two some time to talk. I'm sure Karasuma-san is around here somewhere. He'd love to meet you Midoriya-san."

Izuku laughed nervously as he pulled his head from his hands. "Hehe. Hi, Mom…"

Inko smiled warmly at him. "Hello, Izuku. I have to say; I can't believe you walk this far to get to class every day. I don't think I could do it."

Izuku shrugged. "It's been good for my stamina. I don't need to plan morning runs either when I can just run to school."

"That's true," Inko nodded as she took a seat at an empty table. Izuku sat down across from her. "Oh, what's good?" she asked as she looked at the menu.

"All of it," Izuku answered quickly. "Muramatsu-kun is a great cook, but I think you would like the smoked fish, and you should try the ramen. It is our specialty, afterall."

Inko nodded, glancing over the menu. "Jinenjyo!? Matsutake!? Izuku, where are you getting these!? I thought you could only use three hundred yen per dish?"

Izuku grinned and gestured to his dirty clothes. "You'd be surprised what you can find out here. We're harvesting nearly all of our ingredients from the mountain side."

"Ah, Midoriya-san, Midoriya-kun, Irina-san told me you were here."

"Karasuma-sensei," Izuku greeted with a grin. He glanced between the two adults. "Uh, I'll go put in your order, Mom, and I should probably get back to work. I'm glad you came. See you at home?"

Inko nodded. "You go do that, Izuku. I'll see you after school."

Izuku grinned a little wider and dashed off. Just like before, he traded out his gear and changed behind the schoolhouse before rushing back into the trees to collect more ingredients.

* * *

"That boy," Inko sighed, "always rushing off somewhere. I really should thank you, Karasuma-sensei."

Karasuma-sensei glanced down and slowly took the seat Izuku had just vacated. "Thank me for what?"

"Well, for paying for his lessons with Sentoki-sensei, for one." Inko hesitated, thinking over her words carefully. "Izuku… he's had a difficult life. Things were hard enough when his father left, but… when the doctors told us he was quirkless… everything changed. He used to have friends. He was so… lively as a little boy. I'm afraid I was never quite enough to hold onto that joy. His friends left him, and he began spending more and more time at home. But this year has been different. You've given him so much. He has friends now, teachers that support him, and he smiles so much more. He… you've given him a safe place and hope for his future. So, thank you. I will never be able to thank you enough for everything you've given Izuku."

Karasuma-sensei nodded slowly. "That he needed it is not your failing, Midoriya-san, but a failing of those that came before me. He's a brilliant young man, stubborn and determined. Anything he wants to do, he can. He just needs a little bit of a push to get him started."

Inko laughed. "Yes, I suppose so. But that doesn't change how much you've done."

Karasuma-sensei shrugged. "Is there anything else you wanted to talk about, Midoriya-san? I might as well answer your questions while you're here."

"Well…" Inko said slowly, "there is one thing. Your teaching methods have significantly improved Izuku's grades, but I'm a little confused as to what happened during midterms this semester. He was doing so well, and then-"

"The grade drop?" Karasuma-sensei asked. "He did a bit better than some of his classmates. He only fell eight spots, most of the class fell more than twenty. But you wanted an explanation," he quickly added seeing Inko's shocked face. "A few of the students got into some trouble. He wasn't involved, but we decided it was best to be sure that they all understood what had gone wrong, so we took some time to have them do some community service. It's nothing that will impede them too heavily. They're all smart kids, like your son, but they're still kids. Sometimes they need to learn something that can't be taught in the classroom."

"So, you don't think it's anything I need to be worried about?"

Karasuma-sensei shook his head. "He's doing fine. He'll get into a good high school, no problem."

"A heroics school?"

"He'll get into one of them. Whether it's the one he's hoping for… we'll just have to wait and see. Now, I should probably get going. Don't want to leave them unattended in the kitchen for too long."

"Of course," Inko nodded, "thank you again, Karasuma-sensei."


	12. Tick Tick Boom

**_Second Trimester finals. Their last test of junior high. A final show down between two monsters, with the students caught in the middle. Izuku knows something will go wrong. He knows exactly what's going to go wrong. The only question is whether or not he can avoid Bakugou long enough to make it out unscathed._**

* * *

"You are now ready place within the top fifty, return to the main building, and graduate from class E!" Korosensei announced from the front of the classroom. The determination and bloodlust spiked. They were going to do it.

"Are you sure it's going to be that easy?" Sugino-kun asked, leaning back in his chair. Izuku supposed that was a good point, Asano-san wasn't going to go down easy. "I heard class A got a new teacher," he continued, catching the classes attention. "Board Chairman Asano, if what I heard was right."

Oh, that was bad. Izuku knew he wasn't the only one thinking that. The fear in the room was almost palpable, but he knew they weren't afraid for the same reason he was. They had learned to fear the Chairman and what he'd do to them for the sake of his ideals. They weren't considering the students of class A.

"Really now?" Korosensei mused. "At long last…"

A final confrontation. At least, as far as the _school_ went. Between Korosensei and Asano-san. Between class E and class A. The Chairman had shaped this class as much as Korosensei and Karasuma-sensei had, if only in the other direction. He caused problems while they showed them to solutions and hardened their resolve. He reminded them of weakness, while they nurtured strength.

"Man, I'd never want to be brainwashed by him," Mimura-kun muttered. "He has this weird charisma about him and the words and insight to take advantage of it." He snorted. "His lessons are even so good he can keep up with our Mach 20 monster."

"You don't know the half of it," Izuku muttered, head bowed. "His quirk… in a way, it works in our favor. He'll exhaust them."

"His quirk?" Nagisa-kun asked.

Izuku looked up and nodded. "His quirk… we've seen it a few times before. During the baseball game. He can… he can instill an artificial bloodlust in someone. He makes them angry and… it- it's like-"

"A rotten and violent bloodlust," Korosensei finished for him.

"Yeah." Izuku glanced around the room at their confused faces. "It might be wise to avoid class A leading up to the test. Most of them should be fine. He shouldn't push them so far that they'll actually lose control and lash out, but trying to target and balance for that many people at once will mess with his control. If he under does it, he won't get what he wants for most of the class, but if he over does it…"

"He'll make a ticking time bomb" Karma-kun finished, looking Izuku in the eye. He'd caught on to what Izuku was worried about. _Who_ Izuku was worried about.

"That is a concern, but not one we can do anything about," Korosensei conceded. "You'll just have to watch out for each other for now and do try to keep yourselves out of trouble."

The class rumbled their assent. Korosensei was right, like always. They couldn't do anything about Asano-san's quirk or his lessons for class A. They could, however, prepare for their battle.

* * *

Katsuki didn't know what was going on. His skin itched and burned, and his temper had grown shorter with each passing day. Most of the time he was fine, but then out of nowhere, he'd be seconds away from blowing something up… or seconds after. That one happened the most when he was trying to study for exams.

So yeah, he was angry, and he didn't know why. His parents were even talking about getting him to take some anger management lessons or something. The idea that he needed some shrink to tell him how to control himself only made him angrier. He'd had perfect control over his quirk since he was six. He didn't need help.

Which is why he was out on a jog, getting some fresh air and burning off some of his restless energy. If he blew up at the Old Hag one more time, there would be nothing he could say that would stop them from signing him up for the dumbass therapy.

Something rattled in the mass of junk to his left. Katsuki froze. Who the hell would be in a fucking junkyard? It wasn't even an official junkyard, so no one worked in there either.

Well, only one way to find out.

Katsuki wandered along the edge of the former beach looking for an opening in the trash. It took a few minutes, but he did eventually find a wide path through the mountains of trash. He didn't know if it was because the people that dumped shit here liked being able to hide their shit deeper inside, or if whoever he'd heard had cleared these paths for themselves. Maybe both? It wasn't important. The opening was farther down from where he'd heard the movement, so whoever it was should be somewhere to his left still. Provided they hadn't moved.

Now that he thought about it, didn't these piles of shit use to be taller? Was someone really wasting their time trying to clean out this hell? Fucking dumbass decision if you asked him. The assholes that left their trash would just keep dumping no matter what happened.

Following his memory and his ears, Katsuki carefully navigated the maze of abandoned crap, careful to never touch anything. He wasn't about to lose what time he had to train for UA's exams because he was a dumbass that got tetanus or who knew whatever the hell else was hiding in this place. Could get the fucking plague for all he knew. No fucking way was he going to take that risk.

He rounded the final corner and froze. His anger reared its ugly head again, blood pounding in his ears. His breathing turned ragged in an instant. Why? Because _motherfucking Deku_ was there in front of him, pushing around some stupid metal filing cabinet over the sand. One of the damn upstarts from 3-E that didn't know their fucking place. The _original_ upstart that didn't know his place. The bastard _Deku_ that thought he could do something without a quirk. That thought he could _be a hero, go to fucking UA_ without a quirk. Here he as moving trash around a fucking beach like he was actually going to do something. Here he was working on some pointless project instead of studying like he thought he could score high enough to get anywhere without putting in the fucking effort. Like he was _better_.

"_Deku!"_ Katsuki roared, reveling in the way the damn nerd's head snapped up and the blood drained from his face in an instant. His hands sparked and crackled.

"B-bakugou!" Deku stammered, stumbling back, away from the cabinet. And that only made Katsuki even angrier. All these years he'd told the piece of shit to stop using the stupid nickname and he drops it when he finally starts doing something to be worth the attention. Who was he to say anything?

Katsuki saw red and screamed. A haze of anger slammed over his mind, leaving him only barely aware of his limbs moving, of his hands sparking, of the reason for his anger.

Suddenly, everything stopped. Another voice broke through the blood red haze and the anger faded in an instant. Katsuki felt the blood drain from his face as he stumbled backwards.

Deku was breathing heavily, his face set and eyes cold. He was in a fighting stance. A well-practiced one at that. He had burns littering his arms and legs. His loose shirt was scorched and had a hole in it and _was that blood!?_ The blood was seeping slowly through the side of Deku's shirt and leaking sluggishly from his temple and split lip. Sand and grit covered him, covered them both. Had they been wrestling on the ground?

Katsuki wasn't in good shape either. Something wet dripped from his aching (probably broken) nose. Most of his body complained at his movement like it was one massive bruise, and his arms had a special deep ache that was associated with overusing his quirk.

"Midoriya-shounen!?" the voice called out again.

He'd lost control. He…

Deku was slowly sliding out of his stance and loosening his muscles as he realized Katsuki wasn't going to attack again. His face softened. "Bakugou?" he said quietly. Softly. Like Katsuki was some kind of wild animal. Maybe he was.

His gaze dropped down to his hands, red and raw from the constant abuse of his own explosions.

"Midoriya-shounen?" the voice was right behind him. Where he'd started this mess. Shit. He couldn't… he couldn't have this on his record.

Katsuki gave Deku the angriest look he could muster through the numbing fear and bolted. He scrambled around the piles, running desperately away from whatever the hell had come over him. Running from the consequences of his anger.

* * *

"Midoriya-shounen!" Yagi-san called as he approached Izuku, eyes flicking between Izuku and where Bakugou had disappeared. "Are you alright?"

Izuku nodded. "Yeah. I'll be fine."

Yagi-san was halfway through nodding and accepting the answer when he stopped and gave Izuku a disappointed look. "Midoriya-shounen, I'm sorry, but you look anything but fine." Well, at least Izuku had Yagi-san's full attention now, so he wouldn't be going after Bakugou. Bakugou should have ample time to disappear. "We should get you to the hospital. Did you get a good look at him?"

There went that plan. "Th-that won't be necessary Yagi-san. I'm fine really."

"Midoriya-shounen, I have seen plenty of wounds in my time, please do not lie to me." Wow, All Might's disappointment hurt. Izuku couldn't help shrinking in on himself.

"Please, don't press charges," Izuku said quietly, watching his feet. "He wasn't… he wasn't in control of his actions."

"And how would you know that?"

Izuku didn't answer.

Yagi-san watched him closely. "Let's get going."

"Please, All Might."

Yagi-san sighed. "We'll avoid the hospital for now, if it'll get you to let someone look at you." He poked Izuku's shoulder. "Going to a hospital in this state would require a statement. I know someone else who can help. We'll talk more about what we're doing after you've been looked at."

Izuku straightened his back, beaming at his mentor. "Thank you, Yagi-san!"

Yagi-san shook his head. "Don't thank me yet, my boy. You still have some explaining to do."

Izuku couldn't really bring himself to care. He had won the first step. Yagi-san was at the very least open to listening to him.

Yagi-san pulled out his phone while he herded Izuku into his truck. The call was quick and short, and Izuku couldn't make out much of anything on the other end. "Here," Yagi-san said, holding out a clean cloth. "Put this on your wound." Izuku fought back the urge to roll his eyes and took the cloth, pressing it to his side and holding it there. He wasn't even bleeding that badly. He was more concerned about his bones. He was pretty sure he didn't get a concussion from Bakugou, but that was something to be worried about as well, given his increased risk.

The drive was short and quiet. Neither of them spoke as Yagi-san quickly and deftly wove through the traffic towards their destination.

Towards UA.

Izuku stared, jaw hanging open, at the tall glistening towers of his dream school. "Come, Midoriya-shounen," Yagi-san said as he ushered Izuku out of the car and through the gates. Izuku winced at Yagi-san's cold tone. He knew the older hero wouldn't be happy with him for refusing to answer questions, but he hadn't expected it to set in this fast.

Izuku followed Yagi-san through the hallways, wincing as pain began blooming across his body, adrenaline fading quickly. Izuku clamped his mouth shut and bit back any whimpers and groans that tried to work their way out as they walked through the building.

Yagi-san stopped outside a door with a sign reading "nurse's office" above it. "Midoriya-shounen, please, while we're here, do as you're told and don't argue with her."

Izuku cocked his head to the side. "Her…?"

"Please, just tell me you'll do what she tells you to."

Izuku nodded. Better not to piss off UA's resident doctor… right, Recovery Girl. Yeah, definitely going to avoid pissing her off.

Yagi-san knocked on the door. The door quickly slid open to reveal a very angry looking short old woman. A very angry retired heroine that know worked as a nurse at UA and had to deal with heroes-in-training and their mishaps on a regular basis.

"Get inside," Recovery Girl-sensei grumbled, stepping aside as she leveled an annoyed glare at Izuku.

Izuku gulped and stepped inside. He was starting to regret this. Yagi-san followed silently behind and closed the door behind them as Izuku was quickly led to one of the beds.

"All right, now, let me see the damage. What hurts?"

"Um, just about everything?" Izuku answered, face suddenly paling when Recovery Girl-sensei leveled another glare at him. "Uh, most of it just feels like bruising, honestly. Uh, my chest and side are pretty bad," he continued, gesturing to the bloody side. "My head hurts. I don't think I have a concussion, but it can't hurt to check. Um, my left shin and ankle also got hit pretty bad. I think that's all of it."

"Do you have a history of head injuries?"

Izuku nodded. "I got a concussion earlier this year."

"How did you get that?" Recovery Girl-sensei asked, approaching with a small kit of first aid supplies. "Take off your shirt and pants, I'm going to need to check for anything you didn't mention."

Izuku nodded and started pulling off his workout clothes. "Uh, my school had hired a new gym teacher. He had some… not so great ideas about how to teach us," he said. Yagi-san made a strangled noise from the chair he had claimed off to the side. "He doesn't work there anymore," Izuku quickly added on.

"I should hope not!" Yagi-san exclaimed. "Giving a student a concussion!"

Yeah, Izuku wasn't going to tell them he had deliberately provoked the attack. That definitely did not need to be said.

Izuku blinked down at the old woman with rubber gloves on. For all that she was ready to give Izuku a quick check up, she hadn't actually done anything yet. "Recovery Girl-sensei?" Izuku asked.

Recovery Girl-sensei shook her head and returned to her desk. She pulled a camera out of her desk and a simple ruler. "Can you stand?"

Izuku sputtered. "Y-yes, but is this really necessary?"

"Midoriya-shounen…"

"Toshinori said this is from an assault, yes? Then I am going to document this. If you really have a problem with it, the pictures won't go anywhere. Now, on your feet."

Izuku gulped again and complied, and Recovery Girl-sensei set to work documenting what injuries were visible on the surface, taking pictures and using the ruler for scale. When she was done, she had him sit back down and began lightly poking at him, looking for broken bones or cracked ribs. Izuku hissed as she pressed a spot on his ribs just above the burn. "Definitely cracked," Recovery Girl-sensei said, mostly to herself. "We won't be able to do much to document that, given we don't have an x-ray machine is getting maintenance done over the weekend _when I shouldn't have had any patients_." That last part at the very least was aimed at Yagi-san. Or maybe just the world in general. "Given that you're here, I'm assuming you don't want to go to the hospital."

Izuku nodded again. Recovery Girl-sensei nodded back. "Then let's get you patched up and start you healing. Then you can tell us what's going on."

Izuku didn't have time to feel afraid of the coming questions before Recovery Girl-sensei was cleaning and bandaging his wounds. He swore she was taking pleasure in his pain as she disinfected him and washed away the blood. A spare change of clothes and a kiss on the cheek later, Recovery Girl-sensei stepped away from a slumped and exhausted Izuku. "He's all yours, Toshinori."

Right. Here came the hard part. "Midoriya-shounen, what happened?"

Izuku shrugged. "I was cleaning up the beach. He showed up and attacked me. You came back. He snapped out of it and left."

"Snapped out of it? You said he wasn't in control earlier as well."

Izuku bit his lip. "He… he wasn't acting like himself. Even at his worst, he's never done anything like that. He's not that impulsive, no matter how angry he gets."

"Oh, so you know him?"

Izuku didn't answer.

"Midoriya-shounen, you need to trust us."

Izuku snorted but said nothing.

Yagi-san sighed and glanced over at Recovery Girl-sensei. "If he wasn't in control of his actions," Recovery Girl-sensei said, not even looking up from her paperwork, "that can be verified."

"I doubt they'd listen to me. Won't matter anyway if no one presses charges."

"Much more force and he could have punctured your lung!" Recovery Girl-sensei snapped. "He could have easily taken out your eye!"

"And I still wouldn't blame him for it. I'm not going to ruin his life because someone else was messing with him." Izuku took a breath to calm down. "He probably doesn't even know it," he muttered.

"What makes you say that?" Yagi-san asked gently.

Izuku winced. He hadn't meant to say that last part out loud. Damn muttering. "He… he looked confused when you snapped him out of it. And terrified. He knows the implications. He knows what'll happen if word gets out. He's probably sitting at home waiting for a knock on the door. I won't do that to him. He's… well, he's not exactly what I'd call a good person. He's got a lot of faults, but he would never risk doing permanent harm to someone."

Yagi-san sighed and shared another look with Recovery Girl-sensei. "Well, as extensive as these injuries are," she said slowly, "it is technically your choice, or your guardian's, as to whether or not to press charges. And seeing as you're unwilling to talk about it… we won't interfere."

"Your mother, on the other hand…" Yagi-san cut in.

Izuku paled. That would be a problem. There was no way his mom wouldn't want to press charges. No way she wouldn't know exactly who to blame.

"If someone comes with a court order for the records, they'll get them. That's as much as I'll do," Recovery Girl-sensei continued. "You should probably head home, Midoriya-kun. And make sure you get lots of rest." She offered him some gummies.

Izuku nodded, rising to his feet and accepting a small handful of gummies. "Thank you, Recovery Girl-sensei."

She grunted and waved him off.

"Come on, Midoriya-shounen. Let's get you home."

"I-I can walk," Izuku offered.

Yagi-san shook his head. "I'll drive you."

Izuku gnawed on his newly healed lip. "Can you at least drop me off outside?" he asked. "I don't think my mom would react well to me having spent a significant amount of time with a strange man she doesn't know."

Yagi-san hesitated. "All right," he conceded. "But you will be telling her what happened."

Izuku nodded vigorously, internally celebrating his victory. "Of course, All Might!"

* * *

"Don't worry, Mom. It was just a little training accident. Just got myself bandaged up, good as new!"

"All right, if you say so, sweetie…"

_She can't press charges if she never finds out._ Izuku carefully hid the twinge of pain in his side whenever he moved. As much as Recovery Girl-sensei had healed him, her quirk could only do so much.

* * *

"Naomasa, my friend, how are you?"

_"Toshinori, don't play coy with me. What do you want?"_

Toshinori sputtered into the phone, then sighed in defeat. "I need you to look into something. Don't open a case file, just… do some digging."

_"Sure,"_ Naomasa answered quickly, _"but you owe me dinner."_

"Deal, tomorrow night work for you?"

_"Sure, it'll be good to catch up with you."_

"Then I'll see you then."

Naomasa laughed on the other end. _"Now, what do you need me to look into?"_


	13. Clothes Make the Pros

**_Izuku had plans for a costume. Plans that hadn't changed since he was... eight? He didn't really remember when he first made them. There had been updates, sure, but the general design had remained unchanged for years. And considering how much has changed since then, Izuku figures he might was well start from scratch. And he really does love how versatile and protective his "gym clothes" are. If only there was a way for him to keep them..._**

* * *

Izuku pushed down the doubts plaguing his mind and knocked on the door. It was Karasuma-sensei. Even if he couldn't give Izuku a clean yes or no, he wasn't going to laugh at him, belittle him, or otherwise tell him he was an idiot and a fool. Not after all these months of encouraging him.

The door slid open. "Midoriya-kun, what can I do for you?" Karasuma-sensei asked as he stepped aside to let Izuku into the office.

Izuku glanced around briefly, relieved to find Korosensei and Bitch-sensei missing. Probably busy helping the class prepare for the play. Which Izuku should also be doing, but… he had other things to worry about. "Uhm, so there's something I've been thinking about…" Izuku started slowly, shuffling his feet. Why did this have to be so hard? "If I do get into a hero school… I'm going to need a costume."

"Yes…?" Karasuma-sensei agreed, prompting Izuku to continue.

Izuku gulped. "And, uh, I'll need to play it a bit safer than some other heroes, and I got used to the gym clothes you got us, and they're really nice, but also expensive and kinda top secret, so I would understand entirely-"

"Midoriya-kun, breath."

Izuku stopped talking, took a breath, held it, and released it. "Sorry."

Karasuma-sensei brushed him off. "Now, let's cut to the chase. You were saying something about hero costumes and your gym uniform?"

Izuku nodded and took another deep breath. "I would like to use the general design and safety gear for my hero costume. I-I understand if I can't. The Ministry of Defense wouldn't be required to do anything to ensure my safety anymore when we graduate, but it would be really nice if I could. I wouldn't use everything, of course! I'm going to make changes to help differentiate and make it harder for someone to recognize it and maybe cut down on the cost. I don't know. I never really looked at how much it would cost to do this, but it has to be expensive."

"Midoriya-kun."

Izuku stopped again. "Right, sorry."

"Stop apologizing, Midoriya-kun. You're not doing anything wrong, you're just nervous."

Izuku frowned. "But… the muttering…"

"You're not muttering. You're speaking pretty clearly, and you're talking directly to me. This isn't you thinking out loud, it's you being nervous and not knowing how to ask for things. I'm guessing you haven't asked for help in a long time."

Izuku shook his head, wincing.

Karasuma-sensei nodded but moved on. "As for your potential hero costume, why don't you walk me through what you have?"

Izuku perked up instantly, pulling out his notebook and flipping to the marked-up page with his half-baked drawing. As much as he tried drawing out hero costumes, poses, and other things relating to their moves and quirks, he never managed to get them right.

Well, he didn't put a lot of effort into that either.

"I, uh, I'm mostly focusing on the safety gear and general design. I'm changing the color from the grey camouflage to a dark green, and I won't be asking for the chameleon spray tech we've been using. It'll be too hard for me to consistently apply it to myself. Oh! I'm also switching out the E. It's a little too obvious. I'm replacing it with a crescent moon."

"For your teacher," Karasuma-sensei said, glancing up from the notebook. "This looks pretty good, to me. What's with the mouthguard and the gloves?"

"Oh, right. I'm going for some thicker gloves to help protect my hands from whatever weird stuff I come across, and to make it look a little more heroic. Uh, the mouthguard is a left over from the old design I'm mixing this with. I'm also going to try and work in a gas mask and a microphone for the comms."

"I assume you'll have extras?"

"Yeah. I'll put those in my pockets somewhere. Probably also have one built into the collar."

"Good. You have any idea what else to put in your pockets? You're probably going to need a lot of things."

"Uh, mostly no. I'm probably going to have first aid supplies, but I should also include actual weaponry, given how important that is for me, but I'm not exactly licensed yet, so I can't put anything down."

"Your class is licensed for the tasers because those are the real deal. Even if we have let you use real guns and knives sometimes and you do have all the training you'd need, we don't want to just hand a bunch of teenagers a license to carry deadly weapons."

"Oh, then I can at least put down the taser. I might wind up getting some extra things off Okada-san and Takebayashi-kun, but we'll just keep that part quiet."

An amused smile pulled at Karasuma-sensei's lips. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. At least it won't take you very long to get licensed for other gear because you already have the basics down. Now, as for getting the Ministry to agree to this. I should be able to spin it in a way that will make it work, but it'll take me a little time."

Izuku smiled wide. "Thank you, Karasuma-sensei!"

Karasuma-sensei gave a fond huff as he handed back the notebook. "Get going, Midoriya-kun. You have things to do, and I have some new paperwork to start on."

"Yes, Sensei!"

* * *

Izuku was more than a little confused at his mom's instructions, but he didn't let that bother him. She probably just wanted to eat out to celebrate his final results. It wasn't a big deal.

Either way, Izuku found himself leaving the school after having spent some time at their extra training and hanging out and made his way to well liked restaurant in the area.

"Izuku?"

Izuku glanced around, he was sure he just heard someone say his name… "Aunty Mitsuki!" he called out as he finally spotted the blonde. He glanced around one more time, looking for the rest of the Bakugou family.

"If you're looking for my brat, don't bother. Inko told me not to bring him."

Izuku stopped looking, zeroing in on his honorary aunt. "What?"

Aunty Mitsuki frowned at him. "She didn't tell you anything either?"

Izuku shook his head. "She only told me to come here for dinner. Pretty sure she made a reservation for tonight."

Aunty Mitsuki nodded. "Great, at least we're on the same page. Wonder what she's up to this time."

"This time?"

"Oh, the stories I could tell you," Aunty Mitsuki grinned. "Inko likes to act all gentle and innocent, but she caused a lot of trouble when we were younger."

"But that's not important right now," Inko interrupted, sending Aunty Mitsuki a playful glare as she startled the them.

Aunty Mitsuki just grinned back. "You're right. Why don't you tell us what you've got cooking?"

"Except I'm not cooking."

"Mom, can you please explain what's going on?" Izuku groaned, cutting off the inevitable banter the two would have gotten into.

Inko smiled at him. "Of course, but first, let's get something to eat."

Izuku and Aunty Mitsuki agreed quickly and they settled down. The food was good, and spending time with Aunty Mitsuki apart from Bakugou Katsuki was actually a pleasant experience.

"Actually, we've gotten the brat into anger management," Aunty Mitsuki said at one point. "We started talking about it a little while ago when he started to get a bit worse. Then he took a walk one day and came back and agreed to it. Something we said must have gotten through to him." Izuku suppressed his wince. That must have been after their fight on the beach. "Oh, don't go telling anyone, Izuku-"

"Yeah, it's not anyone's business," Izuku answered quickly. "Private matter and all that."

Inko looked like she wanted to say something, but the conversation swiftly moved on. Eventually, they had finished eating, and Izuku and Aunty Mitsuki turned to Inko, hoping to actually get an answer.

Inko turned to Izuku. "So, if I'm understanding things right, you've been working on new hero costume designs. Specifically, you've been spending a lot of time looking up color theory when you could have just asked someone we know who is well versed in fashion."

Izuku felt his face heating up while Aunty Mitsuki laughed. "H-how did you…"

"You fell asleep with your notes open."

That explained that.

"So, little Izuku, what do you have so far."

Izuku stammered an explanation of his current design. "I'm mostly just trying to figure out accent colors for the gloves and boots. Maybe elsewhere, but… mostly the gloves and boots. I could just go with black, but I want to do something a little more eye catching for marketing and stuff."

Aunty Mitsuki nods, pulling out her phone and messing around with some stuff on it. "Okay, so you said a dark forest green. Something like this, right?" Izuku confirmed the color. "Alright, talk me through what you want from the colors."

"Uh, the whole green thing is…" Izuku gestured at his hair. "I went with dark colors because I'm probably going to be doing a lot of underground and stealth work. I'm trying to go for something a bit brighter and more welcoming for when I'm in more public situations. I also have a small gold symbol on the collar."

"But you still need them to be dark enough that they won't give you away for stealth," Aunty Mitsuki said. "Yeah, that makes sense. Hmmm. What about this."

Izuku looked at her screen. There was a splotch of dark green with two smaller splotches of gold and bronze. It was… that would work.

"You mentioned the gold on the collar, so I started there," Aunty Mitsuki said. "Metallics generally look pretty nice, especially when paired against dark colors, but gold on its own would probably be too light for what you're going for. That means it should probably be the secondary accent color. The bronze is darker and matches pretty well with the gold, so it can be your primary accent."

"So, the bronze for the main color of the gloves and boots, and gold for fine detailing?"

"Yeah, something like that. You can work out more fine details as you go."

Izuku shrugged. "Why would I go against my aunt who works in the fashion industry? Especially when we're talking about something fashion related. But, yeah, this looks great. It should work. Thanks, Aunty Mitsuki."

* * *

1) Yes, I am a week late. Fuck midterms. College is a mess.

2) Izuku is to Mitsuki as I am to my visual art friends. (Massive thank you to them for helping me figure this out!)


	14. Revelations and Resolutions

**_The class knows about Korosensei's past now. They know who he was, what he did, and why he needs to die. They know everything. Izuku, like all of his classmates, doesn't know what to do with the information._**

**_In the meantime, Bitch-sensei has a few questions for Izuku as well._**

* * *

Izuku moved in a daze. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to think? His teacher, the best teacher he'd ever had, the first one to care about him, wasn't the villain he was led to believe he was. Korosensei was by no means innocent. He was an assassin. He was the Reaper. He'd killed hundreds, maybe even thousands, for profit. But he never deserved this.

He didn't deserve to be used as a human test subject for some fucked up experiment. He didn't deserve to be condemned to death for something outside of his control.

He had taken a group of lost and confused children and helped them find and nurture their strengths. He encouraged them. And they were supposed to kill him. Sure, they had always been supposed to kill him, but before they had believed he had blown up the moon. That this was all a conscious choice on his part. As much as they loved him, and as much as he took care of them, that had never erased what was to come.

He wasn't an innocent man, but how were they supposed the _execute_ the man that gave them a future? How were they supposed to let him live, knowing it would condemn the world?

When he came home the first night, he cried. He didn't sleep, looking up everything he could. Trying to find a loophole. Trying to find morals to guide him.

He found nothing. Of course, he didn't. The government wasn't going to let this information be easy to find, and the media didn't want to acknowledge the messy side of heroics. The hard choices.

In the morning, he was dull and lifeless. Just going through the motions. He knew his mom could tell, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything about it. He just kept moving. His mom put him to bed within half an hour of seeing him up. And he broke down again. She tried to ask what was wrong but got no answers.

Things continued like that, for the first few weeks. Izuku knew just about everyone around him noticed. He knew Sentoki-sensei was going easier on him, even if she didn't say anything just yet, waiting for him to come to her. Yagi-san noticed, too, but he didn't do much other than send him concerned looks most of the time. Izuku was grateful for that. At least he could feel like he was actually doing something productive at the beach.

"Yagi-san?" Izuku started as he sat on the sand slumped against one of the newer washing machines. He stared blankly at the water bottle in his loose grip. "What would you do if there was… someone, and for reasons outside of their control, they were going to hurt a lot of people?"

Yagi-san didn't answer at first, watching Izuku closely. "I suppose that depends on the specifics," he answered. "What brought this up?"

Izuku shrugged, still not looking up.

Yagi-san hummed thoughtfully to himself. "I suppose you… do what you have to do. I don't like to say it, but no one is entitled to causing others harm, no matter the circumstances. You might need to separate them from others or get them some kind of treatment. But you do what you need to to cause the least amount of damage."

Yeah, like a bunch of middle schoolers were going to be able to find a cure. They didn't have the resources or the background. Even with Korosensei's help, they probably wouldn't get very far.

"And if you don't have time for that? Like, say it's related to their quirk and they're in the middle of some kind of meltdown?"

Yagi-san moved to sit next to Izuku. "And what kind of quirk would we be talking about here? Hypothetically?"

Izuku hesitated. Should he answer this? Yagi-san had probably realized Izuku was not talking about hypotheticals. "I don't know," he answered, scowling as he took a gulp of his water. "Something that they can't control. Something that would have some kind of discharge over a large area, and you can't call on someone like Eraserhead."

Yagi-san sighed softly. "I suppose, if I am absolutely forced to choose between one person with an out of control quirk and, say a city, I would save the city. I would have no choice but to kill them or do whatever kind of damage would get them to stop. Keep it to a minimum and keep it quick and clean. Honor them and mourn them. Be merciful but remember that they are not worth more than the masses."

Izuku nodded slowly. "Thanks, All Might."

"Are you going to tell me why you're thinking about this?" Yagi-san asked again.

Izuku shrugged again, "Just some old news article." He took another gulp of water and pushed himself back to his feet. "Let's get back to work."

Izuku could feel Yagi-san watching him but elected to ignore it. Better to pretend nothing was wrong and not answer the questions than to let All Might know exactly what was going on.

* * *

Izuku was silent through Nagisa-kun's proposal and the subsequent fight with Karma-kun. They both had points. They both mentioned things Izuku had felt and thought about over the break. Both sides tugged at him. Izuku watched his classmates make their arguments and state their cause. To kill or to save. His heart was being torn. He had to make a choice.

It was his turn. His eyes burned, and his vision blurred as tears fell. "I want to save you, Korosensei. I want to save you so bad. I can't condemn you to death for something outside of your control. But I don't think we can. A cure… this kind of research takes entire teams of specialized scientists years to complete. We have two scientists, and, like Terasaka said, they're at a college level. Not a doctorate. They can't replicate a full team. Even if they could, we have months, not years, and no equipment. We can't… we can't do this ourselves."

Izuku's head dropped as he furiously wiped at the tears falling. "But I can't just… I'll sit out of this one. Whatever the class chooses, I'll go with. I can't bring myself to risk the world, but I can't just let you die either."

Korosensei's tentacle rested on Izuku's head, carefully ruffling his hair. "I understand, Midoriya-kun. It's a hard decision, especially for someone like you, who cares so openly about so many people with all your heart. You'll need to make these choices someday, but it doesn't have to be today."

Izuku nodded, sucking in deep breaths as he tried to get his crying under control. It was alright. He probably wouldn't come across a situation like this again anytime soon anyway. By then he'll be more prepared.

* * *

"Izuku-kun," Bitch-sensei spoke up, tearing her eyes away from the fighting below them for a moment, "there's something I've been wondering about for a while. You… you're one the smartest and hardest working students in the class. Your grades shot up with barely any help from us at all. How on earth did _you_ wind up in 3-E. I mean, I understand Karma-kun. But you?"

Izuku winced at the question. "Grades…" he started slowly, trying to figure out the best way to explain this. "Bitch-sensei, you… you were raised as an assassin, right?"

Bitch-sensei blinked at him. "Yeah?" she answered. "What about it?"

"You and Korosensei and Karasuma-sensei all tell us the same thing. 'Do not judge someone by their quirk. Anyone can be a threat of any number of reasons.' For an assassin, that's pretty central. For heroes, it should be too, but…" Izuku shrugged.

Bitch-sensei frowned at him. "I always thought that was just normal common sense."

"To an extent, yeah," Izuku agreed, "but the world doesn't use a lot of common sense. People are judged for their quirks all the time. The majority of 3-E has either a mutation quirk or a quirk people call villainous. Both of those groups deal with a lot of prejudice and hate. It's… a mess, to put it lightly." Izuku winced as Kanzaki-san had her throat "slit" by Karma-kun. "I deal with similar problems because I'm quirkless.

"Aldera was a blessing at first. No one really liked me or the fact that I scored so high, but with how this school is built, my grades provided me with a level of protection in class and on school grounds. No one wanted to risk touching one of the teachers' golden eggs. But they quickly figured out they just needed to not get caught. The most determined ones found ways to get at me where the adults wouldn't see or hear anything. And… well, no one listens to the quirkless kid crying wolf. If I tried to report it, nothing would have happened. A small handful also figured out that, since my grades were the only thing protecting me, all they had to do was get my grades to tank, so they just… destroyed my school supplies. Repeatedly. It's hard to keep up in classes if your notes never last more than a day, if you manage to take any at all."

Bitch-sensei looked shocked. "People really do that?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Korosensei spoke up from behind Izuku. Izuku cast a quick glance at the few classmates that were out already. They were keeping a respectful distance and focusing on the match below them. "The world can be quite cruel to those that are deemed other or weaker. Many of our students fit in one or both of those categories. Even those with mutations or 'villainous' quirks often have fairly weak quirks that they can't use to great effect in a fight. At least, not without the proper training. Compared to flashier quirks they will always be written off as an easy target."

Izuku nodded. "That's one of the reasons I'm aiming to be a hero. Yeah, I like helping people, but I also want to show them what I can do. That they were wrong to dismiss me."

Korosensei laughed. "Oh, they have no idea how wrong they are to dismiss a quirkless individual. Midoriya-kun, a question?" Izuku hummed and glanced up at his teacher. "Did you ever figure out what my quirk is?"

Izuku shook his head. "Obviously, most of the… superhuman things you can do are a result of the experiment you were subjected to. Not only did you tell us that was the case, but it's impossible for a single quirk to do all of that. It's just too much. Unfortunately, differentiating between a quirk and a result of the antimatter is impossible without background information."

"There is one other thing preventing you from identifying my quirk," Korosensei said, his face gaining the green stripes that said he was feeling vastly superior. "I'm quirkless."

Izuku's jaw dropped. The most feared and dangerous assassin in history is quirkless. "You…"

"That's why I was so quick to believe in you, Midoriya-kun. Yes, you have the skills and abilities yourself, which is essential, but if a quirkless person can be the top assassin in the world, a quirkless person can absolutely be a hero."

Izuku grinned at him. Of course, he could be a hero. Korosensei was quirkless. Korosensei was the freaking _Reaper._ His grin fell. "Is that why they chose to use you for the testing?" he asked. It would make sense. They wouldn't have to worry about how quirks affected it if they used a quirkless person. Izuku watched Korosensei's face fall.

"Yes, unfortunately."

How many… how many quirkless people wound up like that? Izuku felt sick.

"Midoriya-kun," Korosensei spoke up, "please, do not look into that. At least, not right now. We both know this society has its faults, and that it is stained in blood, but let this subject rest. For your own sake."

Izuku nodded, swallowing down the rush of anger, disgust, and fear. Leave the problem alone. Just let sleeping dogs lie. It would be fine. Most modern research wasn't conducted like that anyway. If you want to know how something affects people, you can't afford to ignore quirks. "Right," he sighed. "Thanks for telling me, Korosensei."

Korosensei ruffled his hair again. "Of course, Midoriya-kun."


	15. Testing, Testing, 1-2-3: Part 1

**_It's that time of year again. High School Entrance Exams. Time to see if Izuku has what it takes._**

* * *

_Buntai_

Izuku took a deep breath and walked up to the group he'd been assigned to. Well, first group. Apparently, there would be a few rounds to try and prevent people from being disqualified because a teammate couldn't work with them. A lot of it would come down to a panel reviewing how they approached the problem and worked together.

Izuku still didn't have a lot of hope. Oh well, if he could work with Terasaka, he could work with anyone.

This group was all girls except for him.

"H-hi," Izuku greeted, waving awkwardly as he approached, "my name is Midoriya Izuku."

The tallest girl (easily taller than him) nodded and glanced at the other two. She was… buff. Big and buff with broad shoulders. Literally all muscle. That and her stoic demeanor were enough for her presence to dominate the group. Izuku wondered with half a mind whether or not her long white hair related to her quirk. Or her purple eyes. True, almost everyone had some odd coloration nowadays, so it didn't mean much, but so often those physical traits did somehow connect to their quirk. Like the gods had decided everyone needed to be color coordinated then got board of it and let nature do its thing.

"My name is Suji Sukiru, and my quirk is Copy Strength," she said. "It's a pretty straight forward strength enhancement quirk. I can copy the strength of anything I touch and add it to my own."

"That's gotta be useful," the second girl said. "Do you have a limit?"

Suji-san waved her hand back and forth. "I can only copy ten people or things at once and can only hold each one for about 10 minutes."

"That's a lot higher than what most copying quirks can do," Izuku said.

Suji-san grinned down at him. "I've spent a lot of time training it."

"Anyway," the second girl cut in again. "My turn. My name is Deki Anzuru. I have a generic analysis quirk." That explained why Deki-san seemed so jittery and was constantly looking around. She probably needed near constant stimulation for her quirk.

"And I'm Sugino Gutto," said the third, just shorter than Izuku. "My quirk allows me to charge large amounts of energy into objects I hold and use it to launch them."

Now that she mentioned it… "Do you have any relation to Sugino Tomohito?" he asked.

Her face distorted briefly. "Yeah, he's a cousin. Why do you ask?"

How to answer that without acting ashamed or giving her a reason to dislike him. He had a hunch her family wasn't so fond of Sugino-kun. "I go to the same school he does."

Sugino-san nodded, satisfied with the answer.

"What's your quirk, Midoriya-kun?" Deki-san asked, her eyes stilling for the first time, locked on him.

Right. Shit. So far, they had close range, long range, and intelligence. A pretty well-rounded group. The logical addition would be a defensive quirk, but between the three of them their quirks would be more than able to cover the weak spots. There should be no reason for a fourth member. Something Deki-san had to have figured out by now. "I'm quirkless," Izuku admitted.

Izuku watched their reactions carefully. Deki-san seemed neutral, at least for now. Sugino-san looked like she was reevaluating him. Might be considering whether Izuku was in the end class. Suji-san was _definitely_ against him being there but at least hadn't said anything. She probably didn't want to risk that being graded.

"Alright, let's go," Suji-san said, turning and stomping towards the gate.

Deki-san quickly followed without a second glance, while Sugino-san sent him a… contemplative look before following. Izuku sighed and trudged along beside them. This was going to be a long day.

_Treat them like fellow assassins_, Korosensei had said. Easier said than done.

* * *

The first task had been an obstacle course. Izuku would have flown through it if he weren't tied to the rest of the group. They also probably would have gotten a faster time on it if they had just listened to him and let him lead certain points. But no. It always had to be Suji-san or Deki-san. He wouldn't even have had a problem with Deki-san, but her analysis quirk didn't extend to finding safe routes in difficult terrain and she wasn't physically fit, so she needed help with most of the obstacles.

Yeah. It was bad.

Honestly, the others were worse. At least with the first task they could ignore him, but they couldn't outright abandon him. Or do much to actually sabotage the plans (intentionally or otherwise, probably otherwise… probably).

The second task had been in a group with an equal number of boys and girls, and, again, it had been a well-balanced group. It was a combat simulation with a couple of tough to beat enemies that worked well together. Izuku had a valid strategy pretty quickly after contact, but the group had flat out ignored him until a minute later the other boy, Roba-kun, restated it and claimed it as his own. Even then they couldn't time it properly. Izuku wound up finishing the fight on his own with a little bit of brute force from the rubble they'd made.

The last task was a group of boys and one girl. As with the others, they ignored him almost entirely, delegating him to out of the way tasks where he "couldn't get into any trouble." It was a rescue operation with live actors that apparently do this stuff for a living. If Izuku tried to help more than his team told him to, they inevitable yelled at him to go back and do his job. His job being twiddle his thumbs and wait as they brought him victims in the most inefficient and dangerous manner possible.

Izuku felt like screaming. Or punching something. Preferably both.

(Which is exactly what he did when he returned to class. He's just glad Karasuma-sensei was willing to spar with him so didn't go punch trees and mess up his hands. At least the rocket heist went well. Not that it got them anywhere.)

* * *

_Toku_

Izuku grinned. This was going to be fun. The test was actually really simple. And so were the general rules for what they could bring. "Anything you want as long as you can carry it, think it will be useful, and it's legal for you to have." Which is what they were told long before they knew what they would be doing.

Most applicants brought nothing, or way too much.

Izuku had rope, a hatchet, and a small sledgehammer. (Why does he have a hatchet and a sledgehammer? He had them on hand and wanted to get his money's worth.) And his school bag. His school bag was honestly the most valuable item he had right now.

The task? Find and retrieve as many tokens as you can. Each token is labeled with a point value, most points wins. Simple. The challenge? The teachers from the school and a few hired actors and mainstream pros were patrolling the building and guarding the tokens. In addition, anyone could steal tokens from you if they found you. It didn't matter who got it originally, it mattered who held it at the end.

One last thing.

The tokens were hidden in a maze that was styled like an abandoned warehouse. A very dark and creepy abandoned warehouse.

So, yeah. Izuku was going to have fun with this and was extremely happy he had brought his bag with him to the practical portion of the exam. Everyone else had their pockets and their hands. Izuku had an _entire bag_ to put his tokens in.

Each applicant was released at a different location in the maze. Izuku rarely saw anyone, but he heard them pretty often. He felt himself being watched at one point, and put on a show of being a clumsy, lost idiot. The watcher quickly moved on, and Izuku laughed internally.

The tokens also proved to be a fun little surprise. The vast majority of them were simple physical objects out in the open and easy to find. Those ones weren't worth much. Others required passwords or information to find. They were never referred to as tokens by the guards, but as "shipments" and "product," and other things like that. Those ones were worth more. The most valuable ones, however, were the ones even Izuku got lucky on. They weren't objects at all. They were conversations and computer files. In other words. This was a test on collecting evidence without being caught by the criminals. And Izuku had accidentally brought in some of his school supplies. For example, a flash drive and his phone. He was so happy he forgot to empty his bag before the test when he realized this.

Well, there was one, "token" that was worth more than the others, but Izuku wasn't dumb enough to try and fight a pro hero. If the information he'd gather was correct, the hero they'd assigned as the target was Fat Gum, as well. Izuku wouldn't be able to make a dent.

Izuku did actually run into someone once. (Okay, technically several someones, but Izuku knocked the low-level guards unconscious and left them tied up in a storage closet. They weren't a problem.) He hadn't been paying much attention, assuming his hiding spot would be safe enough, and had been reorganizing his bag. He was moving the more valuable items to the bottom of his bag for safe keeping. He'd already lost one to a pick pocket he hadn't seen or heard. Damn stealth quirks.

A small sound pricked the silence, and Izuku's head snapped up, hand reaching down for his hatchet. Across from him, hidden in the darkness, was someone. Izuku couldn't make out many features in the darkness, but the way they moved, and their eyes reflected what little light existed made him think they had some kind of cat quirk. They were eyeing Izuku's tokens as he carefully and quickly tucked them away.

Izuku couldn't make out any tokens hidden on them, or in their hands, and paused. He didn't need this many. He had more than passed. What was one token from his hoard? _Treat them like your fellow assassins._ He pulled out one, and lightly tossed it across the gap between them.

The other startled and scrambled to catch it, fumbling a few times before it was secure in his hands. "Why?" they whispered, eyeing him carefully.

Izuku shrugged, keeping on hand on his hatchet and one on his bag. "You'll do well in the field. I got lucky. Why shouldn't I?"

"But you need them?"

"Do I? You saw how many I have? Take it."

The other nodded slowly and scurried off. Izuku left shortly after, seeking out a new hiding place for him and his things.

At the end of the exercise the staff took each applicant aside one at a time to go over what they collected. Izuku figured it was because of the information tokens. He didn't know if reciting the intelligence would be partial credit or if he would get bonus points, but either way, having the information would always be better than having nothing.

The look on the hero's face as he pulled out item after item was fun. The look when he pulled out his phone and flash drive and asked if they had a computer he could borrow was better.

"Did you know what the test was going to be ahead of time?" they asked him.

"Would I get more points if I did?" Izuku replied.

They didn't answer.

"No," he finally admitted. "I just got lucky. I honestly forgot my phone and flash drive were still in there. I thought I had emptied all my school stuff out before I showed up."

The hero laughed. And laughed.

"Oh, and can I have my rope back. I need it," Izuku said suddenly.

"Yeah, sure thing kid," the hero said as he forced himself to calm down. "And, yeah, you would have gotten a bonus for information gathering. Heck, even knowing the school exists is worth something. Most of the people in town don't know what this place is for."

Izuku smiled sheepishly. "Am I going to be sworn to secrecy then?"

"Eh, not really. We will ask that you don't scream it from the rooftops, but if someone asks and you think they stand a chance, send them our way."

One more down, two to go.

* * *

**Some quick notes on the Sugino family quirks. Gutto has a stronger variant of the quirk, which allows for a largely point and shoot style, often applying enough force to cause significant damage, in some very rare cases, even punching through steel. Tomohito, however, has a much weaker version. His quirk, if he were to "point and shoot" would only ever reach some bad bruises, or very rarely, break a bone. On the other hand, Tomohito does not simply point and shoot. He uses his pitching skills and style. This means he can increase the amount of force behind it (though still nowhere close to what Gutto can do), and he has much greater control over his aim.**

**The quirk is borrowed from taetaenoway's _To Save the World _on AO3.**


	16. Testing, Testing, 1-2-3: Part 2

_Ken_

Oh, boy was Ken exhausting. Physically, rather than the emotional exhaustion that came with Buntai. There were no group efforts, so he didn't need to tell anyone he was quirkless, but he was also competing directly against other people.

In primarily physical competitions.

_Treat them like fellow assassins_, couldn't really apply here. The rules for the events usually directly forbid interacting with the other examinees.

There was the standard fight competition that Izuku had expected, which took the form of a battle royal at the end. Most of the other events were set up like games. Who can find the things the fastest? Who can capture the most villains (again actors)? Who can weasel through this tight maze (or break down its walls) the fastest? Who can clear the most rubble without toppling the structure and crushing the "civilian" at the bottom? (No actor this time, just a manikin. It was like high stakes Jenga.)

Izuku did reasonably well for most of them, especially if they were allowed access to a pile of gear to work with or given something "standard issue" to complete the task.

What they used to help identify any high potential candidates that wouldn't do well on the tests provided? They asked the applicants about their quirk's applications to hero work prior to starting the tests. And had them answer in front of a panel of judges.

"I'm quirkless," Izuku said calmly, burying his fear under a mountain of nonchalance. "As a result, your question on 'quirk applications' does not apply to me. I have studied free running, mixed martial arts, and several other disciplines and maintained a strenuous exercise routine to help me compensate and keep up with my peers. I am also skilled in stealth and can analyze situations and create and implement detailed plans on the fly."

The panel was silent. Izuku stood there. "Any questions?" he asked. He knew how this would go. They knew how this would go.

The judges shared a small glance with each other. "No," the lead judge said, "you may leave."

They never wrote anything down.

At least Izuku got to take his frustrations out on his fellow applicants (don't worry, no excessive force was used) during the battle royal. He's not sure how many he knocked out in that mess, but he knows it was a lot of them. A small handful might be attributed to others because of Izuku redirecting or dodging attacks so they would strike another combatant.

Either way, where Buntai left Izuku mentally sore and screaming, Ken left him physically sore and just straight up tired.

* * *

_UA_

Here it was. The big one. The grand finale.

Oddly enough, Izuku wasn't super nervous about this one. Sure, he had no idea what he was getting into, but he'd at least been given a chance to prepare. And there was the fact that he really didn't expect much of it anyway. And honestly, he might have gone a little overkill on the preparation part. Yes, they said anything the applicant could make using only supplies found in a hardware store. Yes, it had all been approved. He still wound up not being able to fit his writing utensils, exercise gear, and _supplies_ in one bag. Which resulted in him putting his more normal stuff in his old yellow backpack, and the supplies, some of which were fragile and very carefully packed, in his Aldera messenger bag and holding it close to his side like the slightest bump could make things go horribly wrong. Which… for him, that was true.

Yeah. He might have gone overboard. Well, even if they didn't let him in at least he would go out with a _bang_. And they'd probably change the rules. They were going to regret letting him bring this stuff in. Probably. Maybe.

Who knows? It _was_ approved by someone.

Izuku stumbled forward, breaking out of his thoughts as someone bumped into his shoulder. Without a single word or glance, Bakugou kept walking forward. Izuku gulped as he stopped for a second. Bakugou Katsuki. The pain in his rear that had messed with his life since he was four, was now ignoring him. Not all that surprising considering he probably thought he'd sent Izuku to the hospital a few months ago.

Either way, Izuku had more important things to worry about than his childhood bully. Shoving the thoughts aside, Izuku continued into UA for the second time in his life.

* * *

Izuku was very glad he wasn't in the same group as Bakugou. He was also very glad he'd gone overkill on the preparations, which might not have actually been overkill. Wrapped around his chest and over his shoulder was a makeshift bandolier of rope which held six unlit Molotov cocktails, a hatchet, and a small sledgehammer. In his pockets were metal spikes that he had taken from some sprinklers and sorta-kinda sharpened with some files he'd managed to buy and a lighter. It had taken some doing to get his mom to help him with the purchases (especially the lighter), but she had agreed and the school was willing to permit it with a signed statement from a parent or guardian that the lighter had been lawfully obtained for use in the exams.

On the other hand, Izuku was getting some weird looks. He'd gotten more in the locker room, where he had to stuff the rags into the necks of the bottles and get the bandolier set up. Izuku just had to ignore them. Just deal with the test, which obviously had a hidden component because why else would there be a robot that was worth zero points and they were told to avoid? The test would be too straight forward if it was just the villain points.

"Excuse me."

Great, the guy that interrupted Present Mic. "Yes?" Izuku responded, trying to be pleasant even as "Examinee 7111" looked down his nose at him.

"You should not bring such hazardous materials to this exam!" he began his rant. "It's a risk to other applicants and provide-"

"They're approved by the school and, as such, are completely within the rules for me to have," Izuku interrupted.

"Wha- But-"

"If you didn't read the rules about what is and isn't allowed into the exam, that's not my problem. Now, please leave me alone while I prepare." They didn't have much time before the test started, and even with the Molotov cocktails, Izuku would be at a disadvantage compared to those with flashy, offensive quirks.

Ignoring the sputtering behind him, Izuku pushed forward through the crowd. He was almost to the front when the doors started to open. The others ignored the opening, if they even noticed it at all.

"Right!" Present Mic yelled at them from somewhere behind them. "Let's get started!"

Izuku broke free and sprinted forward through the gate.

"Come on! Get moving! He's got the right idea! There are no countdowns in real battles! Get going, listeners! You're wasting airtime!"

A cry rose up as the others realized what just happened. Izuku ducked around a corner and came upon a one pointer.

Alright. Time to see what he could do. Izuku grabbed his hatchet and pressed forward.

The first few minutes were a blur of hard fights. The robots could be taken down, definitely, but they weren't easy. He did have to admit that, while he had to be careful with them, the Molotov cocktails were really satisfying and surprisingly effective. They took a little while to actually take down the robot, but they worked.

_(Up in a dark control booth someone stared wide eyed at the screen. "Uh, why does that kid have _Molotov cocktails?_" they asked._

_ The person next to the speaker choked on their drink and someone else from the back of the room heaved a sigh._

_ "Because I approved them of course!" came the chirping voice of a furry, rodent like creature._

_ "Did you also approve that hatchet and sledgehammer?" another person asked. By now everyone in the room was watching the green haired child lay waste to their robots, leaving flaming hunks of metal in their wake._

_ "Of course!" the rodent answered. "Isn't Examinee 2234 great!"_

_ "Uh, not that I disagree with you," said a skeletal man, "but how is someone bringing in improvised explosives and other… weapons a good thing?"_

_ "It's because he actually read the rules and is exploiting them," said a tired voice. "Something most applicants never even consider. He got his gear properly approved and made sure he knew how to use them before coming here."_

_ "Indeed," said the rodent. "Oh, and look, it seems like he's got a hero's heart as well!")_

Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku saw another examinee backing into a corner.

_Treat them like fellow assassins._ As much as they were competing against each other, this was actually a very good model for the hero industry. They were competing to take down the most villains, but they all also had the same goal: take down the villains. They were on the same team.

Izuku quickly closed the distance, climbing up the back of the two-pointer. He pulled one of his spikes out of his pocket and slammed it repeatedly into the cameras serving as its eyes until it collapsed and stopped moving.

"You alright?" Izuku asked, panting.

The examinee nodded and dashed off.

Well, he probably just found the hidden system. Time to keep moving.

They had to be nearing the end of the exam when Izuku stumbled across a group of students. He only had one Molotov cocktail left and one spike, though he made sure the keep his hatchet and hammer on him. _Did that kid just say he had 45 points!?_ Shit. Izuku was nowhere near that.

Maybe the rescue system would help him out. Not important right now.

_("Time to see what they're really made of.")_

The ground rumbled. The crowd of applicants all immediately stopped. Confused and worried chatter rose through the air as the _literal building sized zero-pointer_ rolled towards them.

"What the hell are you doing!" Izuku yelled at them. "Don't just stand there, run!"

That sparked them. Worried cries flew as applicants turned tail and sprinted away from the monstrosity bearing down on them.

Windows shatters. Cement cracked. The zero-pointer crushed the top of the building under its "hand."

Izuku stayed off to the side, watching his fellow examinees run. He needed to make sure everyone got out. The ruble falling could easily hurt someone.

The zero-pointer reared back and slammed a fist into the ground in front of it. A large cloud of dust rose and blasted forward. The last of the examinees that had been holding their ground, screamed and ran.

Izuku stayed to the side and watched. He waited for the air to clear, and the zero-pointer continued to rumble forward. His heartbeat heavily in his chest, but he stayed still. UA wouldn't let anyone be killed, and they had Recovery Girl-sensei. There was no real danger here. The worst that could happen was they would fail.

Even something as big and powerful as this couldn't really hurt them.

And anyway. Compared to the hell he'd gone through this year, a robot this slow didn't even register. He could probably climb the thing and sit safely on top of it.

"Less than two minutes remaining!"

A cry caught his attention. Izuku scanned the crowd, keeping his eyes low. Where were they?

There. On the ground. A girl with brown hair was pushing a piece of ruble off her leg. A boy with striped red and white hair sat dazed next to her. Her leg was broken. She wouldn't be able to get out of the way. Izuku ran forward, helping her push the hunk of cement off, and quickly wrapping her arm around his shoulder to support her weight. "Come on!" he yelled at the dazed boy, who blinked out of his stupor and nodded as he stood. Balanced carefully, they hobbled as quickly as the girl could walk.

Something cracked above them. A shadow started growing. Izuku tried to move faster, but the girl shoved him aside and out of the way, hip checking the other boy to knock him down. Izuku rolled with the fall, ignoring the crunch of glass as he scrambled to his feet.

"Let me!" the girl yelled, raising her hands.

She didn't have a strength quirk! Izuku had seen her earlier! She had a… a gravity quirk activated by touch. That cement was going to have a lot of momentum.

"Take it from the side!" Izuku yelled. Please don't break your arms for this.

The girl seems to listen as she ducks down and reaches up to just barely tag it as it passes over her head. The other boy stands and grabs the cement, chucking it back towards the zero-pointer. The girl released her quirk.

"And time is up!"

The girl threw up.

Izuku collapsed on the ground.

The boy laughed nervously.

It was over.

* * *

_Outtake_

Izuku glanced down at his wet workout clothes, wrinkling his nose as the smell of gasoline wafted off of him. Well, these were ruined now. And he really needed a shower. At least none of the broken glass had managed to pierce the cloth… or him.

* * *

**... So, I definitely forgot Izuku still had the Molotov when he got knocked down the first several times. Anyway. Entrance Exams are done.**

**Fun fact, I also forgot that UA sent the results out one week later and thought it was two weeks later instead. And, because it being two weeks later offers... unique opportunities for me, I'm keeping that one.**


	17. In Another World

**_Midoriya Izuku has One for All. He never changed his mind about wanting it. Now, entrance exams are over and he has a quirk he doesn't know how to use. Luckily, he knows some people who are more than willing to help him figure it out._**

**_or_**

**_Izuku chose to keep going as All Might's successor, and Karasuma Tadaomi knows a lot about quirks._**

* * *

**THIS IS NOT COMPLIANT WITH THE REST OF THE SERIES! In the very beginning, before I started writing or really getting into it, I thought I was going to have Izuku still get OfA from All Might. This scene comes from that line of thought. I had it all planned out and I loved it, then I realized Izuku would have changed his mind about the quirk and the entire scene was unusable. I didn't want to lose it, so now you all get to see it.**

* * *

Izuku chewed on his lip as he looked at his phone for the hundredth time that night. The test was over. He failed and now Yagi-san wasn't responding, but he needed to talk to him. He didn't… he wasn't going to focus on the test right now. That part was done. His new quirk was a different problem. He needed to get it under control. He needed to get it registered, but he had no idea how to do that.

And Yagi-san wasn't responding. Probably because Izuku was such a failure. He'd probably ask for his quirk back when he got around to talking to Izuku and…

No. That wasn't going to happen. That wasn't how this was going to work. Even if Izuku failed to get into UA's heroics course, he was pretty sure he'd gotten into Toku and General Studies. He still had a chance. Sure, he wouldn't necessarily be with All Might, but he could make this work.

It wasn't like UA was his only option, just like Yagi-san wasn't the only person that could help Izuku right now. Karasuma-sensei had been a major help to Izuku's classmates, not just in getting them physically trained to be assassins, but also in helping them learn to control and use their quirk to get the most out of it.

Not to mention he was a government agent that probably knew how to get a formerly quirkless kid registered as having a quirk.

Izuku picked up his cell phone, hesitated one last second before squashing down his doubts, and dialing the number.

The phone rang once. Twice. Three times. Four. _"Hello? Midoriya-kun, are you alright?"_

Izuku's face burned. "U-uh, y-yeah. I'm fine, Karasuma-sensei."

_"Then what can I help you with? I doubt you called this late in the day for nothing."_

"Right, of course not. I… I developed a…" Great. He had no idea how to explain this. He had been quirkless for fifteen years for crying out loud! How was he supposed to explain how he got a quirk?

_"Midoriya-kun? Are you still there?"_

"Y-yeah… I guess I don't really know how to explain this."

_"Do you need me to come to you? Or want me to?"_

"N-no. That won't be necessary."

_"Then I suggest by just saying whatever you need to say. Worry about explaining any details later. Just… get it out."_

No way it could be that easy. "Alright then." Izuku took a deep breath. "I have a quirk now."

There was silence on the other end. _"You're a late bloomer?"_

Wait, what? "What…?"

_"Don't worry about it too much, Midoriya-kun. It's not common, but people have quirks they don't figure out pretty often. Sometimes because it has a super specific trigger or use that they don't come across in their lives, sometimes just because. It's not a huge deal."_

Izuku could hardly believe it. "Um, yeah. I guess I am. I was, uh, hoping you could help me get it under control and figure it out and all that."

_"Is it causing any problems for you right now?"_

"Uh, no. I have on and off down, but anything more than that is beyond me. I won't use it by accident."

_"Good. Do you have any plans for tomorrow after school?"_

Izuku shook his head. "Just lessons with Sentoki-sensei later in the evening."

_"Then I'll bring the paperwork to get your quirk registered, and we can fill it out and work on your control after classes let out. Tell your mom and bring some extra food for dinner. I'll let you go when you need to leave for Sentoki-san."_

Izuku's shoulders fell and a weak smile pulled at his lips. "Thank you, Sensei."

_"Don't worry about it. I don't want you out in the world with a quirk you can't control. If we have to work until your next school year starts, we will. I'll help you as much as you need."_

"Then, uh, I guess I'll see you at school then?"

_"Of course. I'll see you then."_

The call ended. Izuku sighed and collapsed on his bed, a giddy laugh bubbling up from his chest. That was one problem handled.

* * *

Izuku sat across from Karasuma-sensei out on the sports field. They would be using the office, but Karasuma-sensei wanted to get some distance from Korosensei while the nosy octopus was working on the yearbooks. "Let's start with you describing your quirk," Karasuma-sensei prompted.

Izuku nodded. "Well, it's a pretty normal strength enhancing quirk," he said. "When I activate it, some glowing red lines start crisscrossing the body part I'm enhancing… and it breaks my bones when I actually hit something."

Karasuma-sensei stopped writing. "It breaks your bones?"

Izuku nodded.

"You said you have off and on figured out?"

Another nod.

"And how much force do you get from your quirk?"

Izuku's face burned. "A lot. Like. _A lot._"

"Can you give me an example?"

"… How much do you know about UA's entrance exam?"

"I know that the only reason they get away with it is because they have Recovery Girl on staff."

"Do you know about the zero pointer?"

"… What did you do?"

"I knocked it out with one punch and broke all the bones in one arm and both legs in the process."

Karasuma-sensei was staring at him. "Did you _know_ that was going to happen?"

Izuku shook his head. "It was the first time I ever used it. I kinda just… did."

"I'm assuming you haven't used it since?"

Izuku nodded quickly. "I don't know how to use less power, so it would be foolish for me to go and destroy everything just to test it out."

Karasuma-sensei sighed in relief. "At least you're a smart one. Alright, do you have a name for it?"

"Uh… superpower?"

"Did you just make that up on the spot?"

"Maybe?"

"Well, too late to change it now. Is that everything you know about your quirk?"

"I guess so…"

Karasuma-sensei set the paperwork to the side. "What does it feel like when you use your quirk?"

Izuku paused. What had it felt like? With everything that had been going on… "Like… a rush? And a lot of pressure. Um… kinda like and egg in a microwave?"

"An egg in a microwave? Okay then. You said the red lines show up on the parts of your body it's enhancing?"

Izuku nodded.

Karasuma-sensei thought for a moment. "You didn't mention any kind of specific trigger, so I'm guessing you don't need one?"

Izuku shook his head. "Uh… at least as far as I know!" he quickly tacked on.

Karasuma-sensei nodded. "Alright, I've got an idea. Have you ever tried meditation?"

Izuku's nose scrunched up. "Once. I wound up mumbling a lot and never really got into that calm state your supposed to."

"Okay, I want you to do something like that, but with your quirk. Don't direct it or control it. Just turn it on and let it do what it wants."

"Uh… the last time I used it, it kinda destroyed my clothes."

Karasuma-sensei paused. "How much, exactly, was destroyed?"

"Just my sleeve, but it was completely gone."

Karasuma-sensei nodded. "Go change into your old gym clothes then. We'll get you settled when you get back."

Izuku nodded and dashed off to change. When he returned, Karasuma-sensei was still there, but seemed to be writing something down. "I'm back, Sensei."

Karasuma-sensei looked up. "Alright, take a seat. Do whatever you need to do to get comfortable."

Izuku nodded and on the ground, hands resting on his knees with his legs tucked under him. "What now?"

"Close your eyes and activate your quirk," Karasuma-sensei said. "Don't give it a task. Don't have a goal in mind. Just activate it. I'll take a video so you can see it later. For now, I want you to focus on how it feels." He pulled out his phone and started a recording.

"Um… alright. Here it goes," Izuku muttered, closing his eyes. He leveled his breathing and turned his attention inward. He focused on that odd new part of him that he had discovered when One for All had activated for the first time, and poked at it, rousing the quirk. He pulled at it, tugging gently until he felt it expanding outward and moving to fill space, looking for something to do.

It moved quickly and suddenly, filling all the space it could occupy and then trying to push further, pressing out and in and on everything it could, yanking against whatever chained it to Izuku's body.

It pressed, but it wasn't as much as it had when he used it before. It wasn't as overwhelming. It hurt, but… it was less explosive, less shattering. There was less pain.

Was his hair moving? Izuku felt like his hair was moving, but he couldn't feel anything moving it? Hair wasn't supposed to do that.

"Midoriya-kun? Are you doing alright?"

Izuku pulled in another breath. Was he doing alright? "Y-yeah. I think so. This is… different than it was before."

"Alright, I want you to open your eyes now. Slowly."

Izuku allowed his eyes to slide open, blinking slightly to readjust to seeing again. Was everything a little brighter now? That made some sense, seeing as his body started glowing last time. But… was it greener, too? Izuku couldn't-

What was that? Was that a green… what? Lightning? Something electric. It felt electric and it was-

The pressure suddenly vanished, collapsing back in on itself and leaving a bone deep ache behind. Izuku fell backwards, groaning. It hurt, but more like a good exercise hurt. And he was tired. Exhausted even. He wasn't sure how using his quirk like that had drained his energy, but it had.

"What happened?" Karasuma-sensei said, quickly stepping over to help Izuku up.

"I don't know," Izuku answered, biting back more groans as he moved. "I just… lost it."

"And how do you feel now?"

"Tired and in pain. Kinda like I ran a kilometer then got hit by a bus."

"We're going to need to be careful in the future," Karasuma-sensei said quickly. "Does anything feel broken?"

"I mean, it's progress?" Izuku answered with a nervous laugh. "It's better than the 'arm smashed by passing bullet train' I had before. And no, I don't think anything's broken."

Karasuma-sensei hummed. "Can you stand for me?"

Izuku nodded and started pulling himself up, using Karasuma-sensei as an anchor. A hiss fell from his mouth as the pain suddenly spiked and his body protested loudly. He didn't fall though. His legs held.

"Still don't think it's broken," Izuku muttered as he tried to forcefully steady his breathing.

Karasuma-sensei didn't answer, instead simply picking Izuku up bridal style and carrying him back to the schoolhouse.

Izuku glanced up at him "Thought you wanted to avoid Korosensei?" he said.

"I did, but there's no way you're going to become proficient with your quirk in the week we have left. You won't be able to use it in an assassination. Not to mention you need to be looked over. So, yeah, we're going inside and talking to him."

Seeing as Karasuma-sensei had his hands full, he opted to avoid the doors and simply started yelling outside the office window. "Hey, open up! I need some help here!"

The window opened, and Korosensei stuck his grinning head out. "And what can I help you with, Karasuma-sensei?"

Karasuma-sensei held Izuku up a little higher and glared at Korosensei.

"Alright, alright." Korosensei gently wrapped his tentacles around Izuku and lifted him from Karasuma-sensei's arms. "I assume you'll be in shortly."

"I just need to grab some things before I forget them outside, then I'll be in," Karasuma-sensei said as he turned around and marched back to where he and Izuku had been working.

"Now then," Korosensei said as he pulled Izuku in and set him in a chair, "what seems to be the problem?" He pressed a stethoscope to Izuku's chest.

Izuku wasn't even going to bother with the "when did he change into a doctor costume?" question because the answer was, "the second he wasn't holding Izuku anymore." "Just about everything hurts," he answered instead.

"Everything?"

"Well, mostly my arms and legs, but yeah, everything hurts."

"Hmmm, let's see what the problem is." Korosensei carefully rolled up one of Izuku's pant legs and paused as he observed the limb. He began carefully poking and prodding the leg, and Izuku felt his body stiffen as he forced breath in between clenched teeth and he tried to resist the pain.

"Karasuma-sensei," Korosensei began, voice flat and cold. "Mind explaining why Midoriya-kun had hairline fractures throughout his body?"

When had Karasuma-sensei entered the room? "There's no way you diagnosed that without any equipment."

"Don't underestimate me."

Karasuma-sensei shrugged his shoulders. "Midoriya-kun developed a quirk recently. I was trying to help him figure it out."

"Oh?"

"Strength quirk," Izuku said as the pain began to fade now that Korosensei wasn't prodding at him. "First time it broke my bones."

"So, this is an improvement," Korosensei said, his usual joy returning to his voice. "Please, do be careful in the future, Midoriya-kun. And work hard to get a better handle on it."

"Yes, Sensei."

"Now, we should get you either home or to a doctor."

"I'll handle it," Karasuma-sensei was quick to answer. "You just stay here and keep working on the yearbooks."

"Alright, if you insist, Karasuma-sensei," Korosensei chuckled. "I hope you're looking forward to the finished books, Midoriya-kun. Oh, you're all going to love them!"

Izuku gave him a strained grin. "Of course, we will. You don't do anything halfway, Sensei."

A sigh came from Karasuma-sensei. "Come on, kid. Let's get you home," he said as he picked Izuku up again.

The trek down the mountain was more treacherous than usual, given Karasuma-sensei was carrying Izuku the whole way down and didn't have use of his hands. The car ride was silent, and getting Izuku's mother to open the door was similar to how they got Korosensei to help, if more polite. (Karasuma-sensei kicked the door until someone answered.)

"What can I- Izuku!" Inko yelped as she recognized her son in Karasuma-sensei's arms.

"Can I please come in, Midoriya-san?" Karasuma-sensei asked.

Inko mutely stepped aside and followed close behind the man as he strode through the apartment and deposited Izuku on the couch. Inko hovered for a second more, then rounded on Karasuma-sensei. "What happened!? Izuku told me he was staying late, but there's no reason for him to need to be _carried home_!?"

"We were working with his quirk-"

"Izuku doesn't have a quirk!"

Karasuma-sensei immediately turned his attention to Izuku. "Midoriya-kun, why does your mother not know you developed a quirk?"

"Uh…" Izuku muttered, eyes darting between two very angry adults.

"How about, while I explain things to Midoriya-san, you stay here and watch that video I recorded earlier. Then, when we get back, you can tell her why you hadn't told her."

"Yes, Sensei," Izuku said.

Karasuma-sensei pulled out his phone and quickly handed it over after navigating to the video. With a small gesture, he guided Inko away from Izuku.

Izuku pressed play on the video. He ignored everything that was said. He remembered that. No, the interesting part was everything else. As he started, he saw the same glowing red lines covering his body that he had seen earlier. They were easily seen on every visible bit of skin and even glowed a little through the gym clothes. As quickly as they came, they faded back into his skin as some kind of phantom wind tugged at his hair and clothes and green flashes of… he was going to call it lightning began arcing over him. When Video-Izuku opened his eyes, Now-Izuku could see a faint glow to them.

It was amazing. Izuku had guessed from how he felt during and after that One for All had been acting on his body as a whole rather than focusing on a single limb the way he had used it earlier. He could also tell that he was still utilizing the full power of One for All, but that this was the correct way to do it. Even if he was still hurt pretty bad from just activating it, it probably would have been much worse if he'd actually done something with it. He'd probably still break his bones badly, even with the force dispersed better.

Now he just needed to figure out how to turn down the power. And what a safe level was.

Izuku played the video again. It really was amazing to watch.

Karasuma-sensei and Inko came back in. Inko looked calmer now that she had talked to Karasuma-sensei.

"Did you learn anything?" Karasuma-sensei asked as he took back his phone.

Izuku nodded. "Spreading it out seems to be the right way to utilize my quirk, but I still need to figure out how to lower the power level, so I don't hurt myself."

Karasuma-sensei nodded. To Inko he said, "I'll leave the quirk registration papers here so you can get them filed. Other than that, Midoriya-kun should probably see a doctor soon, and definitely needs to rest."

"Okay," Inko replied. "Thank you for bringing him home."

Karasuma-sensei bowed before turning to the door. "I'll also call Sentoki-san, so she knows not to expect you for a little while. Take it easy, Midoriya-kun." The door closed behind him.

"We have a lot to talk about, young man!"

Oh, this was going to be a long night.

* * *

**So, yeah. This is right before the government fires Heaven's Lance. This version of Izuku would be in a world of pain while he tries to keep up with his classmates. Among other things.**

**Also, a quick head's up to everyone that actually bothers to read this, I am going to be travelling in the near future, so I'm not going to be able to post anything here until the end of January. In the meantime, a happy holidays to all of you, and I hope you have a great time.**


	18. Leave the Light On

**_The Ministry of Defense has made their move, and Class 3-E doesn't sit around waiting for very long. There is always someone left behind to hold down the fort and leave the light on for when they come home._**

* * *

The train Izuku took home from the dojo was empty. It always was. Well, almost empty. There were two other people in the train car with him. A man and a woman, both in expensive suits, both on opposite sides of the car with Izuku sitting in the middle. None of them ever acknowledged the others, so Izuku just counted the car as functionally empty, unless he needed to start talking out loud, which wasn't often.

None of that mattered right now. Now, he was on his way home from another grueling lesson with Sentoki-sensei and frantically texting his classmates. While he had been busy practicing, a bright beam of light had descended from the sky, covering the mountain they studied on.

Luckily, whatever it was (and yes, they had some very good ideas), it had happened within the last minutes of Sentoki-sensei's lesson, so Izuku hadn't missed much of the screaming about government bastards. More than half the class wanted to go up immediately and investigate, luckily, they were tempered rather easily by the others with just a little logic and reasoning. Not everyone could make it out there in a reasonable timeframe, and there was no telling how much (or little) coordination between the Ministry of Defense and the local heroes there was. In either extreme, there could very well be a swarm of heroes on the mountain that they wouldn't be equipped to deal with. They'd be flying blind in every sense.

When everything was settled, or as settled as it was going to get, Izuku put his phone away, bouncing his leg and jittering nervously while he tried desperately to stay still. They knew what was happening. The Ministry was taking their teacher from them, despite the less than one percent chance of death by not-so-fiery explosion. He hated it. He hated being stuck on this train with nothing to do and nowhere to go.

Even with him fidgeting every two seconds and gnawing on his lips, neither of his "companions" paid him any mind. When it got to his stop (the man got off two stops before), Izuku practically bolted out of his seat. He tried to keep himself to a somewhat decent walking pace, but just kept moving faster and faster. He was only three meters out of the station before he was jogging. Only a block away before he started sprinting. He should have been tired and worn out from his lesson, but the news had just filled him with tension and energy that refused to leave him.

Things started getting weird again as he approached his apartment building. There were armed soldiers roaming the streets, only small groups passing every once in a while, but enough to notice, and people were leaving. They were carrying bags and their eyes were wide. Some of the kids were laughing and playing, like this was some adventure. Others were nervously asking what was going on. Izuku paused for a second, watching the exodus of his neighbors, then he ran.

He sprinted up the stairs, carefully weaving through the crowd and doing his best to avoid knocking anyone over.

"Mom!" he yelled, bursting through the door and tripping over himself to get his shoes off.

"Izuku!" _Thank god. She's still here._ "Over here. Pack a bag, quickly."

Izuku stumbled again. Had they already come through? "Mom, what's going on?" he asked, rushing deeper into their little apartment.

Inko glanced in his direction, away from the small knick knacks she had been debating. "Oh, Izuku," she put down a picture frame she had been holding (_A picture of them and the Bakugous, before Dad left_). "Don't worry too much. I'm sure everything will be just fine. One of the downstairs neighbors, Wakusei-san, called ahead. Something about a… oh, I don't quite remember. But they'll be here soon to explain to us." Inko rubbed Izuku's back slowly as she gently pushed him further into the apartment. "Now, go pack a bag. Grab what you can and get ready to leave."

They hadn't been through yet. He had time. It would be fine. Everything would be fine. It was just a little evacuation.

There was a knock at the door. Izuku froze. Inko hesitated, before giving him a small push. "I'll take care of it. Pack." She turned around and opened the door. Izuku didn't move.

"Ah, good evening ma'am." That was Kamui Woods. Izuku slowly turned around. The hero was standing in the doorway, with three soldiers behind him. "The Ministry of Defense is evacuating this area. We-"

"Why?" Izuku hadn't meant to interrupt, but his mouth moved before his brain had even processed the words. But really, why would they need to be moved? It wasn't like Korosensei was going to attack anyone.

Kamui Woods glanced over his shoulder and then at Inko, whose face shown with blatant confusion, before turning his full attention to Izuku. "There's a delicate operation in the area. We don't want any civilians being caught up in it."

"How long will we be away, Kamui-san?" Inko asked.

"I've been told it will take about a week," Kamui Woods answered, "so you should pack for at least that. We have a shelter set up for those that need to stay in the area and have nowhere else to go if you need it."

No. Izuku would not place himself under direct surveillance. Not when his teacher needed him. But where else would they go? He needed to be here, and they couldn't afford a hotel. Well, they could, technically. Izuku had seen the kind of money his dad sent them, but Inko hated spending it. Hated relying on Hisashi any more than was absolutely necessary. They lived comfortably, but no more than that.

"Is the intersection of Touri and Douro outside the evacuation zone?" He didn't like this plan, but it would keep him out of sight and in the area. It should be far enough. They were just on the edge of the area that was allowed priority enrollment from Asano-san's agreement with the residents when he bought out the school.

"Uh, yes," Kamui-san said, "it is."

Inko immediately straightened. "Izuku, honey, we don't have to go there, if you don't want to. There's nothing wrong with staying in an emergency shelter for a little while."

Izuku shook his head. "I want to stay here, Mom."

Inko's eyes narrowed. "If this is some hero watching thing-"

"What? No! Mom, I haven't watched any hero fights in months!" Izuku quickly defended.

"Wait, you're that kid, right?" Kamui-san interrupted. "The quirkless kid from the sludge villain incident almost a year ago."

Izuku forced himself not to wince. That was hardly how he wanted to be remembered. On the other hand, the quirkless kid did more than several trained professionals…

"I'm glad to see we got through to you. What you did was very dangerous."

Izuku could feel his back straighten and his muscles tense. "Actually," he said slowly, eyes locked on firmly on Kamui-san's, "I've just been too busy training."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, preparing for entrance exams. I've applied to four hero courses."

"Oh. Well, um…"

"Izuku, why don't you go get packed. Are you sure about staying with the Bakugou's?"

Izuku glanced down at his mom and shook off the last of the anger burning quietly in the back of his mind. He nodded. "Yeah. Things are… past their worst. Probably. I can at least be civil. I can't say much about Bakugou, though."

Izuku saw his mom twitch slightly at his use of Bakugou's last name instead of his first or his old childish nickname but ignored it. He sent one last look at the soldiers and Kamui-san and turned into his room to pack. He left the door open, listening in the whole time, just in case.

* * *

Inko was fuming quietly while Mitsuki cursed up a storm. She was furious. Furious that there was a villain on the school campus, and no one had even noticed. Furious at the government for not doing something sooner. Furious at the school for putting her baby in such an isolated area that allowed this to happen in the first place. Furious at the reporter for even implying that the students would have known something. (But mostly afraid, because what if they were right?)

She probably should have been furious sooner, when they sent him out there at the beginning of the year. She should have been furious before that when her son started trying to secretly buy more and more notebooks. She had assumed it was just for his hero studies until recently. Until his grades stopped dropping and started rising when he got away from the idiots that looked down on him and got a teacher that actually cared.

As it was, she was furious now and she didn't know where her son was.

"Katsuki!" Mitsuki yelled.

A thump was followed by footstep pounding down the stairs before Katsuki entered the room. "What do you want, you old hag!" he yelled back.

"Where the hell is Izuku!"

"How the hell should I know? He spends all of his time out with his shitty classmates!"

"It's been two days, Katsuki! How can you know how he spends his time, but not know where he is!"

"I know because that's what they always fucking do, hag! They stick together all the fucking time! And he's not here! I'm not his keeper!"

"Katsuki!" Inko yelled, cutting over the screaming match before Mitsuki could keep it going. "What do you mean they stick together?" she asked, quickly lowering her voice once she had their attention.

Katsuki shrugged. "The 3-E kids are almost always together. They usually even stay up on their little mountain well after school lets out. Hell, most of the time they hang out together even when there's nothing school related. Biggest bunch of misfits in the entire fucking place, but they're the closest group of friends on the damn campus."

Inko opened her mouth to speak again but was cut off by a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Mitsuki grumbled. "And don't think this is over, brat. We're continuing this conversation later."

Katsuki rolled his eyes but dropped down on the couch to wait. Inko slowly settled herself on a chair to one side. She desperately wanted to keep asking Katsuki questions. He had the most accurate and detailed knowledge of Izuku's school life other than Izuku himself. But she couldn't do it. Not without Mitsuki.

When Mitsuki returned, she wasn't alone and was clearly unhappy about it from the purse of her lips. An old man in a dark suit with his skin wrinkled and his hair turning grey followed her into the house. His eyes were an unusual shade of electric blue, and his fingernails came to a sharp point. "Ah, Midoriya-san," he greeted with a bow. "I am Manuke Dairi. I am here on behalf of the Ministry of Defense."

Inko understood Mitsuki's expression now and found herself copying it. "I hope you plan on offering a formal apology." She bit out. Katsuki tensed slightly, and his head whipped in her direction, glancing nervously between her and the government worker. "How is it that it took you this long to find a villain this powerful? That you allowed him almost completely unfettered access to children?"

"That is precisely why I am here, Midoriya-san," Manuke-san answered. "We are uncertain as to how long this monster has been in the area, or how much contact he has had with any of the students. The Ministry has decided that it would be best to… take them in for a short while. For their safety and, potentially, the safety of others. We need to know if he made contact with them and what effects it could have."

Inko bristled under the accusation. "My son would never willingly work with a villain-"

"Damn right he wouldn't," Katsuki interrupted with a snarl. "Deku doesn't have a single evil bone in his body. He's been dreaming of being a hero since he was fucking born."

"Katsuki, let us handle this," Inko quickly reprimanded. While she appreciated Katsuki's support, now wasn't the time. "Well?" she pressed, turning her attention back to Manuke-san.

"What you say may be true," he admitted, "but the Ministry can never be too careful. And do you think he would hold so firmly if his family was threatened? He and his classmates were seen snooping around the blockade as well. It is my experience that no matter what people say about all life being equal, they will always put the lives of their loved ones over strangers'."

He was right. Izuku would probably burn the world if it meant she was safe, and she knew it. After all the years of isolation from everything else, she couldn't say she was surprised that Izuku valued her above everyone else.

"Do not worry, Midoriya-san," Manuke-san continued. "This will not show up on any permanent records, and the children will not be harmed. They will be safe, and we will only be performing a few psychological evaluations until we feel it is safe for them to return home. At the very latest, if you are correct about your son's convictions, he will be returned to you, safe and sound, before you move back into your apartment.

Inko rose. "You had better hope we are both right," she said, her blank look morphing into a petrifying glare. "Because if a single hair on my son's head has been harmed, you will learn exactly how far a mother will go for her son."

Manuke-san merely smiled calmly back at her. "We shall see, Midoriya-san," he replied. "Although, I would keep the death threats to a minimum if I were you."

"Get out of my house," Mitsuki hissed.

The man glanced at her briefly and nodded. "I will be going now, Midoriya-san," he said, giving her another bow. "It was nice to meet you, although I wish it had been under better circumstances."

Inko said nothing and just watched as the man turned calmly on his heel and walked back out of the house as though nothing had happened. As though he wasn't keeping her son from her when she wanted him here with her most. The door closed behind him, and Inko slowly sank back down into her chair, body sagging as the anger and fury left her in a rush. Izuku was being detained by the Ministry of Defense. Izuku wasn't going to be allowed to come back to her until after the Ministry apprehended or killed the villain up on the mountain. Her head sank into her hands, and she sobbed.

Mitsuki crossed the room in a few strides and quickly wrapped her arms around Inko, holding her tight and letting her cry. "Katsuki, go get the tissues," she said. For once Katsuki didn't argue with her.

She cried, Mitsuki held her and passed her tissues, and when she finally stopped, she was exhausted, and the questions she had wanted to ask Katsuki were forgotten. She went to bed, and slept, knowing her son was probably scared and alone, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Luckily, while she had forgotten, Mitsuki had not, and the next day, they got the full story of what happened in Aldera Junior High, and how Izuku's class had turned it all on its head.

* * *

Inko did her best to keep herself busy over the following days, but she couldn't help marking off each one as she got closer and closer to reuniting with Izuku. She couldn't help thinking of him every time a hero passed the house or the news talked about the monster that caused all of this.

The day before Izuku was due to be released, a knock at the door froze everyone in the house. Slowly, Katsuki leaned out from around the corner into the living room where the rest of the occupants were sitting. Masaru rose to his feet, and silently went to answer the door.

The remaining three waited in tense silence. They could hear Masaru at the door, talking to someone. The conversation didn't last long before the door closed again, and Masaru returned.

He shook his head slightly, when he saw Inko, and she felt her heart fall. Izuku wasn't back yet.

Masaru cleared his throat slightly and held out his hand. Held out the envelopes in his hand. "UA's test results," he said simply. "They decided that… with all the heroes in the area, they might as well send someone to deliver it to us by hand. They sent Izuku's as well."

Katsuki was over in a second, forgetting the tense atmosphere and ripping his letter from his dad's hand.

"Katsuki, we should wait for Izuku to get back before you open that!" Mitsuki snapped as Inko took Izuku's letter from Masaru with shaking hands.

"No, no," Inko said, shaking her head and holding Izuku's envelope close to her chest. "Please. Open it. I-Izuku will be back soon. There's no need to wait on our account."

"See," Katsuki said as he turned to return to his room and open the letter in private, "Aunty thinks I should open it."

Silence echoed in Katsuki's wake.

Inko stifled her sobs, trying desperately to avoid wrinkling the letter. Izuku would be back soon. He'd be able to open his letter tomorrow when he came home.

He would.

He had too.

He'd come too far not to.

Mitsuki and Masaru wrapped their arms around Inko, letting her cry on them. Letting her take comfort in them.

"I-Izuku wi-will be h-home tomorr-ow," Inko whispered.

"Yeah," Masaru whispered back, "he will be."

"You bet your ass he will be," Mitsuki said. "You won't be the only one pounding down doors if he's not."

"I-I need to go to the post office and get the rest of Izuku's letters. They won't be able to deliver them to the apartment."

"That can wait, Inko," Masaru said, trying to sooth her.

Inko shook her head. "I should go get them."

Mitsuki gave Masaru a small shove. "Do you want me to come with you?" she asked Inko.

Inko hesitated but nodded. "I don't think I want to be alone right now… I miss him."

Mitsuki hugged her again. "Let's get going. We don't want the post office to close before we get there."

Inko nodded and stood on shaking legs. "Yes. We should go."

* * *

That night, the Bakugous and Inko ate spicy curry and celebrated Katsuki's success, not only as a student in UA's hero course, but also as the highest scoring student in his year.

On a side table next to Inko's bed, a small stack of four envelopes sat unopened and waiting.

An old and weary man waited on a trash ridden beach. He grew more frantic as time passed, eventually leaving late at night when it was clear whoever, or whatever, he was waiting for wasn't going to come.

Twenty-eight human kids and one artificial intelligence snuck through the security perimeter and fought their way to the top of the mountain, meeting up with their beloved teacher.

Unbeknownst to those in the city bellow, those twenty-nine students killed their teacher, the supposed monster and villain, minutes before a beam of light covered the area, going completely unnoticed by the grieving children.

* * *

**Hello! I'm back! And we're almost done with _Assassin in Training_! I don't have a name for the next section yet (which starts with Izuku's new school year), but unfortunately may need to hiatus again to make sure I have it ready and enough buffer to last for a good long while. It's two week until the next update.**

**NoS**


	19. Ship in Harbor

**_Izuku is home. It's over. Korosensei is gone._**

**_It's time to move forward._**

* * *

Stepping back into his home for the first time in a week was a massive weight off Izuku's chest. He was home. He was safe.

No Ministry. No soldiers. No heroes or reporters.

Just Izuku and his mom.

Safe.

And alone.

Finally, away from everything, Izuku felt his shoulders slump. He took in a deep shuddering breath and tried to not let it all overwhelm him.

A pair of soft, warm, and comforting arms wrapped slowly around Izuku, pulling him into a gentle hug. He leaned into his mom, letting the tears fall. "Izuku," she said, soft and quiet. Everything was soft and quiet. Comforting. "Are you alright, honey?"

Izuku took in a shuddering breath, trying to push the tears aside. "Y-yeah," he finally said. "I just… a lot has happened. I need… I need some time."

"Alright. Take all the time you need." Inko pulled away and gave Izuku a quick kiss on the forehead as she rubbed his arms. "Here," she handed him a small stack of envelopes. "Whenever you're ready, you can open them. Just… try not to take too long. You still have some decisions to make."

Izuku nodded slowly and took the envelopes. He leaned into his mom for another few moments, then slowly walked off to his room without a word. In the dark room, Izuku sat at his desk and stared at the envelopes. His test results. They would have arrived only a few days ago, wouldn't they?

A few days…

If they'd just waited. If they'd been more patient, he would have known before they went to kill Korosensei. He would have been able to tell Korosensei the results.

Izuku sighed, turning away from the letters on his desk. He couldn't deal with that right now. Instead, he turned to the bag he'd been sent home with. After the graduation ceremony, they'd returned to the detention center they'd been kept in to retrieve their things, then continued to the school to pick up their yearbooks and other school supplies. They cleaned up the building one last time before returning to the main building for debriefing. Their final gag orders were given, and an offer of government paid therapy quickly made, something Izuku was just as quick to accept. A few others also accepted, but most were still thinking on it.

They had also distributed the reward money. There was a lot of debate about what to do with the money. Some had tried saying that their ten billion were theirs alone and it didn't matter what the others said, but a quick consultation with Korosensei's guidebooks had even them turning away large portions of the money. Izuku was fairly certain Isogai had kept the most to look after his family. No one actually disclosed how much they kept, but Izuku was confident no one kept more than 200 million. Izuku wound up keeping more than he initially wanted because hero schools, and UA specifically, were expensive, and he was probably going to rack up quite the bill from health expenses and gear for his costume.

The costume was less of a concern when Karasuma-sensei confirmed that the Ministry of Defense was willing to allow him to use it and pay for it while he was in school. After he graduated, he'd have to come up with the money himself if he needed modifications or replacements.

The remaining money… they had agreed to certain donations and purchases that would take some time to go through and formalize but should be finished by the time school started. When they were done, they planned to have Isogai formally return the remaining money to the Ministry.

Something that certainly made the Ministry a little less upset over what happened the night before.

So, yeah. Izuku had a few notebooks, a gym uniform (minus weapons) that would never see the light of day again, and two books the size of first-generation desktop monitors, and a small pile of money to remember Korosensei and the Assassination Classroom by.

He carefully moved each item from the bag to a safe and proper location. Most of this year's memorabilia was moved to the back of his closet where hopefully no one would ever look. His clothes and other items were quickly tucked away in his drawers where they belonged, and his phone was plugged in to charge.

Laying on his bed, Izuku stared at the ceiling. He should probably sleep. He should change and actually rest.

It didn't feel like he should. It didn't matter that Izuku had things to do in the morning and nothing he was ready to do now, there was just too much in his head. Too many things. Too much had happened over the past days and he just… couldn't handle it all. He didn't want to think about it, but in the dark and the silence, it was all he could think about.

Watching Kayano die. Watching Korosensei fight to protect them. Watching him put Kayano back together again. The feel of his tentacle under Izuku's hands. The sound of his voice as he did roll call and said goodbye. The lights-

Izuku's phone started buzzing frantically. Izuku jumped up and stifled a squeak with his hand. Breathing heavy, Izuku glanced over at the offending device. Of course, it was going to vibrate now. It had lost power days ago, and at the very least his mom had to have been trying to text him.

Twelve missed calls. Nine from Mom and three from Yagi-san. Six voicemails from mom, one from Yagi-san. Izuku promptly deleted the voicemails from his mom. He knew exactly what was in them. He knew why she was calling. He didn't think he could stand to hear her crying right now. He couldn't listen to her desperately begging him to respond. He ignored the one from Yagi-san for now. It could wait.

The texts… he could handle that.

_Unknown: "You better come back in one piece. If you hurt Aunty like that, I"_

_ Unknown: "Just come back"_

Izuku stared at the messages. When had Bakugou gotten his phone number? How had Bakugou gotten his phone number?

Izuku blinked back tears and opened the next thread.

_Mom: "Izuku, the Ministry of Defense just stopped by. Please stay safe."_

_ Mom: "Honey, can you talk to me?"_

_ Mom: "Please respond"_

_ Mom: "I miss you, Izuku."_

_ Mom: "I'm going to assume they took your phone, now. I'll stop calling."_

_ Mom: "You'd love watching all the heroes around right now. There are so many. There's even a few I can recognize from the national news, but only some."_

_ Mom: "I bet you would recognize more than I do."_

_ Mom: "I got a few autographs for you today. You'll have to remind me to show you when you come home."_

_ Mom: "Made katsudon for lunch today. Still thinking of you."_

_ Mom: "Your test results came today. UA delivered them by hand."_

_ Mom: "Katsuki got accepted into UA. I haven't opened your letters yet."_

_ Mom: "Are you going to be at the graduation ceremony?"_

_ Mom: "I'll bring your uniform for you just in case."_

_ Mom: "It's at the community center, if they haven't told you."_

Izuku couldn't hold back his sobs. He could barely even read the last texts through his tears by the end. Goddamnit. Why did this have to happen? Why him? Why did everything have to hurt?

Just… why.

Izuku's thoughts circled and spiraled, and eventually, he had no tears left. Exhausted, Izuku sat there, staring at nothing, doing nothing. He should… do something. Go to bed? Sleep sounded wonderful now. Maybe. He should sleep, but that meant moving. He could sleep in his chair. He'd done it before, but it had never been an active choice.

His phone buzzed again. Someone was texting him now, at… two in the morning? Why were they awake?

_Yagi: "Hey, sorry I haven't been responding lately. Things got pretty busy. Can you meet me on Dagobah beach tonight?"_

_ Yagi: "Midoriya-shounen, are you coming?"_

_ Yagi: "Midoriya"_

_ Yagi: "Izuku"_

_ Yagi: "Youre starting to worry me"_

That was… that was from the night they… the night Korosensei died. Yagi-san must have wanted to talk about the results.

_Yagi: "I don't know whats going on but Im sorry."_

_ Yagi: "Whenever youre ready, text or call"_

_ Yagi: "Ill be waiting"_

_ Izuku: "sorry"_

_ Izuku: "like you said, a lot has happened"_

_ Yagi: "Izuku! Are you alright! Whats going on!"_

_ Izuku: "i'm fine"_

_ Izuku: "i think"_

_ Izuku: "i can meet up to talk tonight"_

_ Izuku: "tomorrow night?"_

_ Izuku: "i should be able to go through the results by then"_

_ Yagi: "Please, don't push yourself. Try and get some sleep tonight."_

_ Izuku: "i'll try"_

_ Izuku: "you should sleep too"_

_ Izuku: "good night yagi-san"_

_ Yagi: "Goodnight, Midoriya-shounen"_

Izuku left his phone plugged in on his desk and flopped down on his bed. Tears pricked at his eyes as he curled up on his side. He thought he'd been done crying for the night, but apparently his body had other ideas. Time passed, and the tears didn't stop, but eventually, quietly and subtly, the shuddering breaths evened out to a fitful sleep.

* * *

Izuku hated how much he was worrying his mom. She'd let him sleep in late, but eventually pulled him out of bed when she realized he wasn't even sleeping anymore. She quickly cajoled him into something more comfortable and into cleaning himself up a little bit. She even worked up some katsudon for him for lunch.

When Izuku reminded her of the autographs, she lit up slightly and dashed off. She came back with a small notepad and had quickly wrapped Izuku and herself up in a blanket on the couch to go through them. There were only four, but all of them were wonderful.

The first one was from Eraserhead. Izuku was astounded that his mom had managed to get the signature at all, given how reclusive the underground hero was. Inko quickly admitted that she wouldn't have recognized him as a hero if not for the fact that he'd just come out of the restricted area. Her description of him as a scruffy, tired looking man that had hidden his face in his scarf for most of the interaction had gotten a weak laugh out of Izuku. ("I swear, he was blushing, Izuku!")

_("Not everyone can be a hero," the note above Eraserhead's signature read, "but hard work and strong morals are all you need to get there.")_

The second also had Izuku smiling softly. Miruko might not be well known yet, but she was rising fast. Izuku was quick to tell his mom that she'd just met a hero that was going to be in the top ten someday. Between her hard work and winning personality, she was gaining fans fast, even with her young age. She might not beat out Hawks as the youngest to make top 10, but she was certainly going to be up there. Probably within the next ranking cycle. ("Really? Well, I suppose she was quite the energetic young woman.")

_("You've got a great mom, kid. Never forget to tell her how much you love her.")_

Gunhead's signature wasn't as valuable as the first two. He was usually pretty easy to find and had stagnated in the lower ranks years ago. Sure, it was still valuable, and Izuku still loved that his mom had gotten it for him. ("Oh, I remember when he first debuted! It was a pretty big case for a rookie, but he handled it wonderfully. It looked like he was going to be great for a while, but well, not everyone can be destined for greatness, I guess.")

_(Don't worry too much about the numbers or what anyone else says. All of us have a part to play and a purpose in our society.")_

The last was from Hound Dog and was accompanied by a little cartoon of the hero arresting villains in a cute little chibi style. There wasn't a note, but Izuku was still smiling softly.

While they sat on the couch, Izuku's mood rapidly falling back to where it had been when he got up, Inko decided to bring up the possibility of therapy. Izuku responded that the Ministry was going to set him up with a therapist and was going to pay for it, which got an approving hum out of Inko.

Either way, Izuku was still tired, and sad, and eventually he extricated himself from the blankets to go look at his test results. Inko didn't say anything, but Izuku could tell she thought he was pushing himself. And maybe he was, but he needed to get this done. No amount of waiting was going to make him more prepared, and the schools weren't going to wait forever.

So now he was sitting in his dark room again, staring at the pile of envelopes. What did he open first? The ones he knew he failed? The ones he wasn't sure about? Did he open UA first? They had packaged the results for both his General Studies and Heroics applications together. It was simultaneously his dream and his backup plan, and he couldn't look at one without seeing the other.

Izuku eventually gave up on thinking about it and just grabbed the first from the pile and opened it without looking. He finally glanced down at the papers in his hand. _Buntai._ A rejection letter. Not that he didn't know that was coming, but it still hurt. He knew it all came down to his other teammates not working with him. Came back to his quirklessness. To the idea that he had nothing to offer the team. Izuku placed it to the side without reading further.

Might as well get the bad ones through with first. Izuku picked up the letter from Ken. This was a nicer letter. Still a rejection, but they weren't dismissing him outright. Technically he was waitlisted, but Izuku found it unlikely that anyone more than fifteen spots down would have any chance of making it in, and he was in the eighties. There was a lot of flowery language about him being a good candidate and wishing him luck elsewhere. Izuku could take that.

Now, what next? Back up and pointless dream, or the one he knew he got? Izuku lifted UA's envelope. Might as well get this over with. See if he had a second blade to work with. With shaking hands, he pried open the letter. There was a thick packet of papers and a small projector disk inside. Izuku dropped the disk, turning his attention back to the packet. Before he could look, a bright flash startled Izuku, causing him to jump back and knock over his chair, his throat closing on any noise he tried to make. The disk bounced and spun, and eventually stopped. With the projection face down.

_"Booyah! I am here as a projection now!"_

Izuku scrambled to flip it over. What the heck was All Might doing on a UA recording? Did they get alumni to announce the results? How much money did UA have?

"_I know it's been a while-"_ That's right. He said that in the text messages, too. _"-but with great power comes mountains of paperwork! Eheh. My apologies, shounen. The truth is, I didn't come to this city just to fight crime. You're looking at the newest UA faculty member!"_

Actually, that answered several questions Izuku had. It was probably how All Might planned on transitioning from active hero work to spending more time as Yagi-san. Not that he would actually succeed at balancing his heroic impulses with his new teaching job. Izuku was pretty sure Yagi-san couldn't remember the last time he wasn't a full-time hero.

Someone off to the side leaned in to tell All Might to get a move on.

"_Erm, right! Midoriya-shounen! You passed the written test with flying colors, receiving one of the highest scores UA has on record! But that alone is not enough. In the practical exam, you earned 19 villain points, which, unfortunately, is not enough to secure a passing score, and applicants must pass both the written and practical tests to be accepted."_ Yes. But what about the rescues? What about helping people? Had Izuku been wrong? Please, don't let him have been wrong.

"_But, wait, there's more! Look at this!"_ The screen changed to show the brown-haired girl from the exam. _"Do you have a sec? Sorry to interrupt,"_

All Might paused the video. _"She stopped by to talk about you, shounen. But what does she have to say?"_ Izuku started looking for a fast forward button. Just let the clip play, All Might! _"You'll have to stay tuned to find out!"_ There better not be a commercial break, All Might! All Might hit play.

"_You know the boy with all the messy green hair and the freckles? Uh… his face is kinda plain looking and doesn't really stand out much? He was the one with all those weird bottles and stuff. Actually, was he carrying Molotov cocktails? Not important."_ Izuku swore Present Mic was trying not to laugh. _"Would it be possible to give him some of my points? He rushed in to help me, even when everyone else was running away. He even had good ideas to help me avoid being hurt more, despite me not telling him anything about my quirk. He really deserves to get in, but I think he wasn't expecting much."_

The image changed again, to the boy he'd helped with the three-pointer. He looked like he was talking to some friends. _"I really want to find that kid and thank him. You should've seen it. He took on a three pointer with nothing but a metal spike and won! I would've been a goner without him."_

Another examinee he'd helped by hitting a one pointer that was starting to sneak up on him with a Molotov was telling a similar story.

And another.

Several people were cut together in the same image, with one voice playing over it. _"If he hadn't said something, I probably wouldn't have moved so fast. Who knows, I could've been caught in all that rubble."_

The video stopped. _"You've helped and inspired many people, putting yourself at risk. The actions of a hero. Which is why I am here! The practical exam was not graded on combat alone!"_ All Might hit play, and Izuku felt his mouth tugging up into a grin. He was right. There were points for helping people.

It cut back the Present Mic ruffling the girl's hair and cutting off her rambling. _"Thank you for calling the station with your request, but there's no need to worry. The kid's chartin' just fine."_

The screen cut back to All Might. _"How could a hero course reject someone committed to saving others? Afterall, that is what makes a hero. And that's what my alma mater is all about. Training those who would risk their lives for the greater good. So we have rescue points! A panel of judges watches and awards points for heroic acts that go beyond just fighting the villains. Midoriya Izuku, for your many heroic acts throughout the exam, you have been awarded 22 rescue points, bringing your total to 41, and Uraraka-san, for both her actions on the field and her desire to help you after, 35 rescue points. You both pass the exam. Welcome, Izuku-kun, to your hero academia!"_

Izuku sobbed. His legs gave out under him, leaving him sitting on the floor. He was in. He'd made it into UA. The hologram shut off, a simple disk waiting to be turned on again. He was in UA. He was going to be a hero.

Izuku let the rush pass, wiping the tears and snot from his face as they finally slowed. He should look over the papers sent and check what Toku sent him. Taking a breath, still giddy with excitement, Izuku glanced over the letter. It explained a lot of the same things, along with a listing of the top ten practical scores (of course Bakugou had first with _only_ villain points), as well as his own ranking. Number twenty-three of the thirty-six admitted through the exams. Ranked tenth on composite scores. There was also some paperwork and a letter of acceptance for the General Education course with the instructions to send notification of intent to attend, with specification to which course he was attending, before March 24th.

He made it.

Korosensei had told him he could.

Izuku's smile fell.

If only he could have told Korosensei.

Izuku picked up his chair and sat down again.

Toku. He still needed to read Toku.

Hands steady again, Izuku quickly opened the letter from Toku. The letter was handwritten. They used what was probably the same paper they used for the others, with the insignia and mailing address at the top, but they had handwritten it. The letter gleefully told him that not only did he pass the exam, but he was the top applicant this year. Heck, not only that, he was the best applicant they had ever gotten. They hoped desperately to see him at the start of the school year but would understand if someone as skilled as he chose to go to a more prestigious school.

Oh, how he wished Korosensei could have seen this.

Izuku stumbled out of his room still crying. His mom was waiting there for him. Her face fell when she saw him. "Oh, Izuku…" she started, moving to wipe away the tears.

Izuku shook his head, grabbing her hand and holding it against his face. "I got in," he whispered. "Two schools accepted me. I got in."

Inko pulled him into a tight hug. "Which ones?"

"UA and Toku," Izuku answered, hugging her back just as tight. "Mom. I'm gonna be a hero."

Izuku could feel her smiling against his shoulder. "Of course, you are. I know… I know I wasn't always as supportive as I should have been. But you are my amazing, sweet child. You can do whatever you want. Be whoever you want to be. It doesn't matter what those other fools said when you were growing up. You've already proven them wrong just by getting this far."

Izuku forced himself to nod quietly as a fresh wave of tears hit him. He got in.

He was going to be a hero.

* * *

Yagi-san was already waiting when Izuku got to the beach after sunset. He looked more or less the same as he always had. Maybe a little… was he paler? It was hard to tell in the light, but Izuku could swear the hero had lost some color.

"Yagi-san? Are you alright?"

Yagi-san jumped and spun to face him. "Midoriya-shounen! I should be asking you that."

Izuku shrugged. "I… I'll be fine. You don't look so great though."

"Ah, I've been worried about you, Midoriya-shounen. That's all."

"Oh." Izuku ducked his head. Of course, it would be his fault Yagi-san wasn't well. "Well, you can stop worrying now."

"Midoriya-shounen, you don't have to put on that smile for me. I can tell something's wrong. Do you want to talk about it?"

Izuku let the smile drop and shook his head. Even if he did want to talk right now, he couldn't. He would never be able to tell him about it. "Y-you wanted to talk about the exam results, right?"

Yagi-san hummed and pulled Izuku to take a seat next to him on an old washing machine. Or was it a drier? Didn't matter. "I did," Yagi-san admitted. Right the results. "But you shouldn't be here just out of some sense of duty or responsibility."

Izuku shrugged. "I'm here now anyway. Whatever you wanted to say…"

"Right. So, you got into UA. I wanted to tell you I didn't tamper with the results. Never even told anyone I knew you."

"I- You-" It had never even crossed Izuku's mind that Yagi-san could have given him a better chance now that he was working at UA. "Thanks. I got into another school, too. They specialize in underground heroes."

"Have you decided where you want to go?"

Izuku shook his head. "I… UA is my dream school, but Toku is… Toku suits my current skills."

"Have you considered which school would be better for your goals? Both the goal of becoming a hero, and what you want to do as one?"

"They'll both get me through licensing. The only reason Toku isn't highly ranked is because they do everything they can to make themselves hard to find. Pretty sure they pay to keep their name off lists. After that… I don't know. I'm probably going to be doing a lot of underground work, but… I want people to see me, too. I want them to know me. Know who I am."

"And given this Toku's specialization in underground heroes, you might not get the spotlight you need after graduation?"

"Yeah. I don't know. It's just… there's some other stuff, I guess. It's complicated."

"Well, whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll do just fine."

Izuku shrugged.

"When you make a decision, come talk to me," Yagi-san said, dropping down from his perch. "There's something I want to talk to you about."

"You want my help looking for a successor, don't you?"

Yagi-san sputtered and coughed up some blood. "What- How did you-?"

Izuku shrugged. "Kinda figured you would ask eventually."

Yagi-san got his coughing under control. "Yeah, I was going to ask you to help. I took the teaching position to look to a successor in the first place. After I met you, I figured it would be so I could continue training you alongside your peers, but then, well…"

"I changed my mind."

"Right. As far as finding another goes. I trust your judgement. I was going to give it to you, and you would have needed to find a successor of your own eventually anyway. On top of that, you'll see a lot more of your classmates than I will. It would give me a better idea of who's worthy than if I tried on my own. But don't let that be why you decide either way! Think of yourself first, Midoriya-shounen!"

"Yagi-san," Izuku said, jumping down from the washer/drier himself. "You… you can call me Izuku. You won't be able to as All Might, but… as Yagi-san, please, call me Izuku."

Yagi-san relaxed. "Alright, Izuku-kun. If that's what you want." Eh, close enough. "Now, come on. You should get home and get to bed."

Izuku sighed but let himself be led off. He didn't particularly want to go home yet. Going home meant thinking again. It was getting late, though, and letting himself fall into habits like this was hardly going to help him in the future.

* * *

**And with this, Assassination Classroom is done and Izuku is moving onto highschool (and all of the new fun that's going to bring him). Unfortunately, I want to make sure I have some ducks (read: characters) in a row before I start posting the next section. Which means that while I do have some buffer, it is not enough for my taste. Hopefully I will be back soon.**

**Double unfortunately, I don't have a name for the next part picked out, so you guys are just going to have to keep your eyes open for the time being. Sorry.**


	20. Communication

**_Unexpected letters aren't a good sign. They're a very bad sign when you've spent the last year learning about spies and assassins and all the ways they work._**

**_Izuku might be a little paranoid, but quite frankly he, and every underground hero, has every right to be._**

**_Even when they're wrong and everything is fine._**

* * *

**Okay, I know I said**** we'd move into Izuku's high school life next with a new fic, but this needed to be dealt with or it would be very clunky later.**

**That said: I am not off hiatus. There are still some things I need to deal with and clean up (or write entirely) before I am comfortable posting, and life has been... yeah. On the other hand, I'm really close to being ready! I just have no idea when I'll actually be able to work on it! So... hopefully soon!**

**This is just after Izuku sends back his decisions, but before the school year actually starts.**

* * *

People didn't send things by snail mail these days. Or, they did but only for very specific reasons. Mostly bills and paperwork—things where people still insisted on a physical copy—or packages being shipped from who knows where, plus a few other odds and ends like acceptance and rejection letters. Even adds and junk mail didn't come in physical form anymore. It was all digitized in emails or pop ups or things like that.

But this letter was not a bill. It wasn't a legal document, or a formal notice. Izuku would know. If it was anything like that, it either wouldn't be his name on the letter, or it wouldn't have come through the mail like this. Karasuma-sensei and the Ministry of Defense would never risk anyone even seeing any official correspondence between them and Izuku.

Which brings Izuku back to the letter at hand. These days, when you got a letter that wasn't a bill or paperwork, it was either a prank (or scam, or other ill-intended trick), or someone trying to avoid leaving any kind of electronic trail. Neither of which were particularly good signs. As a result, there were a number of steps people took to avoid making fools of themselves, and to get back at anyone foolish enough not to cover themselves.

Step 1: Check the return address. See if you know where it's from, if it even goes anywhere. There are some people that find the feel of sending a letter more intimate than other options. This, of course, is no guarantee that the return address is accurate, but it's a starting place, and if it goes nowhere (or doesn't have one), that is a red flag.

Step 2: Was it sent through the postal service, or delivered by hand? If delivered by hand, proceed with caution, and probably call the police.

Step 3: Open the letter and find out what's going on.

Steps 1 and 2 are mostly just so you know how much to prepare for. Some people chose to throw out the letter unopened if the return address is faked, but no one throws out something with no address. If it's a threat, you will want some evidence.

Izuku, of course, did his due diligence. So he knew that this letter (supposedly) came from Sir Nighteye's agency offices and was delivered through the official postal service. He had even taken the extra steps of checking weight, and balance, and holding it up to the light to see the there was anything in there other than a letter. It didn't feel like it, but the paper stock used for the envelope was too thick to see through, so his last test didn't really help any.

With nothing else to do, he opened the envelope. And got a letter. Just a letter. Which is good, because Izuku didn't know whether or not he needed to be concerned about poison.

_Midoriya Izuku_

Okay, starting reasonable enough.

_When you are done with this letter, burn it as soon as possible._

A bit more concerning. Actually, a lot more concerning.

_Several members of the underground hero community have expressed interest in mentoring you as you work to join our ranks, but have also been understandably concerned about such contact being used against you or against us, should the information fall into the wrong hands. Given my knowledge of your performance at the Toku entrance exam, I agree with these sentiments and have volunteered to initiate contact between us._

_ What follows are instructions for access to a secure group messaging server and the rules thereof. There is also a list of members and what they are using as their call sign._

_ With interest_

_ Sir Nighteye_

That was… interesting. Checking the following pages, Izuku found the instructions, rules, and a very long list of names and code names. Okay, it was all code names, but it was their official hero names and the new name that definitely looked like it belonged in a standard internet chatroom.

Izuku brushed aside the new information and went back to scrutinizing the letter's authenticity. It was handwritten and appeared to have been signed by Sir Nighteye personally, though that didn't actually prove anything. It was very easy to get samples of pro heroes' handwriting. The information also didn't provide much to go off of, given how little Izuku knew about underground heroes. Even for all his research, they were called _underground_ for a reason.

And if they were talking about him, that just provided a convenient excuse if someone had overheard them and was now using the information to mess with him.

The rules also made sense. No using real names or hero names. No discussing work directly. No discussing classified information. Only certain people had the ability to change anyone's names (which prevented any confusion over who was who by requiring it to be planned and announced, prevented people from sneaking in, and was aimed at preventing people from hacking the server to change their names).

All in all, it was a very convincing letter, but not one that was beyond question. And Izuku was not about to trust like that. Not after an entire year of learning how to lure people away. How to tail, track, trick, and kill.

Maybe he was paranoid, but he wasn't going to just ignore what he knew. Someone could have faked this. Izuku himself could have faked this, if he wanted to. If he ever decided he needed to.

Hell, even the names on the list. He didn't recognize most of them, but the ones he did were definitely in the right line of work.

He saw names of people who simply avoided the media like the plague despite being well suited to the spotlight with Koujin, Phantom, and the legendary Seamstress he only heard whispers of.

He saw those that were primarily informants, or had quirks others distrusted, like with Rhapsody, The Count, and Sir Nighteye himself (though All Might's former sidekick was far more trusted and public than either of the others). And The Count's presence explained how anyone knew about his test results.

There were the ones that were too grumpy to be popular and too willing to get their hands dirty to be mainstream, like Mora.

And there was one that stood out. In all Izuku's research they were little more than a whisper in the back streets of Korusanto, and those whispers all thought of Legionnaire as a vigilante being protected and hidden by the civilians just as much as she protected them. They didn't call her a hero.

That last bit was going to push it either way. Either this was actually from the underground and they knew things Izuku didn't, or this was a cleaver trick that had pulled some vigilante names to pad the number.

Really, there was only one way Izuku could know, but the concerns brought up about villains knowing the connection and using it were valid. He couldn't just be out right about it.

Even as Izuku pulled up his email and opened a fresh draft addressed to Sir Nighteye, he knew he had to be careful. In the subject line, he wrote "The Letter." And in the body, he simply put:

_Confirm or deny._

_ Midoriya Izuku_

* * *

Two days later, Izuku received a response. By then Izuku had recorded the names, rules, and instructions in an encoded journal and destroyed the original letter. (The base of the code he had learned alongside Nagisa-kun from Karasuma-sensei in the name of keeping their notes and plans secret from Korosensei. Izuku had later modified it, so that even they couldn't read his notes. A necessity with all of Izuku's secrets.)

The response was only one word.

_Confirm_

* * *

**Little bit of extra detail on future plans. The sequel has a name now! It will be _Keep Moving_. Again, hopefully soon, but I'm not sure exactly how long this will take.**


End file.
